Truffles and a Hammer
by HetaWriter - HetaReader
Summary: Matthias is a vigorous and cheerful handyman who moved from Northern Europe. Emma is a patissieur in need of help to fix a building to become her new shop. Little did they both know that they were ingredients in a recipe called love. Human AU, rated T for swearing and innuendos. Denmark x Belgium.
1. The Handyman

_Hello all - HetaReader/HetaWriter here. Things have been getting quite hectic lately - work, uni and after commitments I have. I've also been suffering from writer's block with HetaVoice. Rest assured, I'm not giving up on the story (I **never **give up on things I've started), but as I suffered writer's block with HetaVoice, I started gaining ideas for other stories and so, I couldn't help but type them up._

_This is one of those very ideas. Pretty much, it was gained after re-reading A Piece of Me (my first ever story online) and getting the idea of maybe make a story for certain characters in the town that Antonio and Arthur live in. So, here is one of those very stories - a Denmark x Belgium. I'm a fan of that crack and I think it _could _work between them - Emma has a high patience and tolerance rate coupled against Matthias' vigour and sometimes demanding self - I think she can keep him in line. At the same time, both are quite cheerful and be able to support each other._

_I hope you enjoy the story._

_**Disclaimer:**_I_ do NOT own Hetalia._

* * *

Matthias was humming a merry tune to himself as he continued cocking the pipe back into place with his wrench. He finally tightened it with an extra heave on the metal tool, keeping it secure so nothing would leak out from it anymore. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he emerged from under the sink and began packing away his tools.

"Aww, you done already?"

Matthias simply grinned pearly whites at the woman standing at the kitchen's entrance. "Wasn't that bad of a leak! Fixed it, _no _problem!" he said, feeling quite proud of himself.

"Already? You're a fast worker," the woman said, giving him a pout through thickly glossed lips.

Matthias gave a good-natured laugh, "Yeah, well that's how I work! You can definitely bet I work fast and hard!"

"Fast and hard, huh?" there was a purr lined in the woman's voice as she sashayed closer to him. She leaned down, so as to go eye level with him. She was wearing a shirt a few sizes too tight. They would also give many a great view of the assets from behind. She smiled at him as she batted her eyes through thick, mascara lashes, "Anything else of yours that works fast and hard, hmm? Besides those…_really _strong arms of yours?"

"Fast and hard? Hmm…" Matthias tapped his chin, deep in thought. He then snapped his fingers, "Oh yeah! My legs can work fast and hard, too! I can run two laps around the town from the fountain to the creek, no problem!"

Completely oblivious to the woman's dumbfounded face and the blatantly obvious implication; Matthias finally grabbed his red toolbox in one hand, and slung his white bag over his shoulder. He gave her a merry wave along with a cheerful _'goodbye!'_ and left the house; taking the money he was promised from the counter and pocketed it into an ancient leather wallet.

He strolled down the street, now whistling the same merry tune he hummed while working. It was an old tune that his father used to sing back home in Copenhagen. Matthias' old man was a lively and vigorous fellow who could practically outdrink anyone back at the pubs. He didn't easily get drunk and had a very hard liver, however once he _did _get drunk, he was more violent, but rather in a slapstick manner (as the only victim he hit was himself). The man would become clumsy as he claimed that trolls and fairies were flying around him and not long after, would puke on himself as he came home to await the hangover of the century the next morning.

God, he loved his old man.

Matthias was somewhat hesitant in leaving his beloved home, but became curious as to what the world was willing to offer him. He always wanted to travel around, and if he finally found a place that befitted his interest, he would stay there and maybe settle there for the rest of his life.

It was hard to say goodbye, but his parents acknowledged that he was no longer a boy, but a man who needed to find his place and purpose in the world. And so, he was able to leave with his parent's good wishes. Matthias eventually came into Norway, where he met an old friend of his, a stoic and serious young man named Lukas.

He and Lukas had known each other from school, but the latter had to move back to his home country to take care of his then sickened aunt and younger brother. The Norwegian boy didn't return after he wrote to Matthias that his aunt had died in the night, succumbing to her illness. Naturally, the Danish man had missed his best friend, with whom he had many great adventures with.

Lukas was very surprised to see Matthias again, at a station in Oslo no less, but nonetheless, had allowed him to stay in his home (with whom he shared with his younger brother) and for a while, Matthias loved his new home and new life. He was able to work as an assistant to the butcher nearby, and as a result, was able to bring home some of the spoils.

It was a fairly content and comfortable life.

However, Matthias soon yearned to travel again – he just couldn't sit still. It was clearly evident that the Dane needed to move again; otherwise he would go mad from curiosity as to what lay beyond the boundaries – what adventures would await him from beyond? So when Lukas asked if he would like to join him and Emil to visit a friend who was very sick, naturally, Matthias agreed with great enthusiasm.

Berwald lived in Stockholm. He was a man that towered over many and had a serious look constantly plastered on his pale face. He had short blonde hair, very pale blue eyes and his glasses only magnified the intense look that emanated from them. He also spoke in an accent that Matthias had trouble deciphering at first, but eventually got used to and was even able to understand after a while.

Berwald also had a caretaker living with him, a young Finnish man with warm, brown eyes and yellow blonde hair. Tino was his name. Much to Matthias' amusement, Berwald insisted on calling Tino his _'wife'_, much to the latter's horror. 'Til this day, the large, intimidating looking Swede still called the more petite and delicate looking Finn that.

It wasn't Berwald or Tino that was sick though.

Instead, it was a child with blonde hair and thick eyebrows. He had sea blue eyes and a very small frame. He shivered as winter's harsh winds frolicked around the house and he soon became deathly pale. The child was a boy from England, London to be exact, that Berwald had decided to adopt and bring him home to Stockholm. Peter was the child's name – he was a lively thing where great cheer was added to his footsteps and voice.

However, the cold seemed to greatly affect that child's cheer.

Matthias was very fond of Peter and would always try to make him warm whenever he was around. He would try to lighten the atmosphere by cracking some jokes (though Lukas slapped him after delivering the punch-line), he would sing songs that his family used to sing in his booming voice, but to be more literal, Matthias would spare some of his own clothes for the boy.

No, the Danish man didn't remove all his clothing and give them to the child. Rather, whenever there was a particular day that froze more so than usual and poor little Peter had to walk to school and endure the biting frost, Matthias would either accompany the child there – lifting him up onto his shoulders and carry him to school – or if he was busy, give up his coat.

This seemed like a big deal to everyone else since Matthias' coat was a rather large one made from rather fine silk and fur. Plus, it was a memento from home – it belonged to his father. Matthias' father had given the coat to him, with the words, _"May the spirit of your mother and I warm you always, my son_._"_

Matthias himself however didn't seem to find anything wrong with giving his treasured coat to Peter, who was still a growing child that needed to be kept as preserved as possible so he wouldn't perish during the frost.

Plus, his parents' spirits would warm the kid, right?

Nobody could deny that Matthias had grown fonder and fonder of Peter as the days wore on. One day however, the Danish man panicked as he was coming home from doing an odd job of plumbing the neighbour's drain. He saw the little boy collapsed outside at the front yard with Emil kneeling at his side, trying desperately to wake him up. Tino's dog, Hanatamago, was yapping in her high-pitched bark, seemingly calling for help.

Peter had become deathly ill.

The doctor had concluded that the weather in Stockholm was not suitable to Peter's health and the only cure was to move to someplace warmer. Berwald soon arranged for everyone to move – to move away to a much brighter and warmer place. Matthias included.

The Danish man was happy in more ways than one to move away – one, it got him travelling again, and two – Peter's health would hopefully improve. So now the family; Berwald, Tino, Lukas, Emil, Matthias, little Peter and Hanatamago, took a flight the next day and left not only Stockholm, but Europe behind.

And so, that's how Matthias ended up here.

Matthias had to admit – it wasn't such a bad place here. The weather was certainly much warmer than any of them had expected and the sun had never shone so brilliantly out in the open. The temperature was warm while the atmosphere in general emanated a rather barren desolation, but that was probably due to the unique flora and fauna around.

Emil already gained two sunburns and complained about how humid the climate was. However, when Tino suggested that it was because he kept on wearing plenty of clothing, Emil would furiously flush and snap that stripping off even just _one _layer was out of the question. He was always so modest when it came to his body.

Everyone had to adjust as well as they could to not just the climate, but also to the society of the town. Though most of them were quite warm and welcome to Matthias, Tino and Peter, the others seemed to take more so than usual to get used to.

Already, Berwald caused a reputation among his workmates in the city as being _"the scary accountant with eyes that will eat your soul"_. This newly earned nickname caused Matthias to laugh so hard that his gut almost burst. He only stopped because Berwald (literally) threw him out of the house until he sincerely apologized for offending the Swedish man. Surprisingly, it was far colder at night and due to wearing far less layers, Matthias gained a cold.

Lukas was described with many adjectives; along the lines from _"weird"_ to _"unfriendly"_. Matthias raged at anyone who dared to say such things towards his best friend, but the Norwegian man didn't seem to hold any of those words to heart. Lukas cared not about anyone's opinion towards him and graciously continued with his work, still maintaining his sophisticated poise. He _was _able to make a friend though – some English man who apparently lived alone and had also recently started work at the library.

Matthias couldn't help but feel jealous towards that English man. Arthur, he was sure his name was. Or was it?

The Dane couldn't be assed to remember, really.

Emil was transferred to a high school where he continued in his second last year. He was far too reserved and didn't seem keen on befriending anyone around him. He also didn't seem keen on sharing his school life to the others, either. Matthias just assumed that since Emil was quite young (only seventeen), it would take the longest for him to adjust. After all, the coldness of northern Europe was what kept the teenager warm.

Still, he, like the other three, couldn't help but worry about how quiet Emil was becoming and how much he kept to himself. Lukas tried talking to his younger brother, but received nothing out of the norm. Everyone then decided to just leave Emil; deciding that he was still having a hard time adjusting to his new home.

However, Matthias always suspected that it was something worse that kept Emil silent.

One day, Emil quietly entered the house while nearly everyone but the Dane was busy. Berwald was working much later than usual; Tino went to the market to buy some more of the necessities while Lukas was taking a later shift in the library. Matthias perked up from playing with Peter as soon as he heard the door creak open, "Hey! Where've you been?"

Emil didn't respond and simply walked on by. Annoyed at being ignored, Matthias had walked over to the teenager in easy strides, asking how his day was. The boy spoke in a quiet yet grumpy voice for the Dane to leave him alone, adjusting his scarf closer up his face. Matthias, due to his playful nature, had decided to clamp a hold on the boy's wrist and tried pulling him towards the kitchen so he could play with Peter and himself; he never did that anymore ever since they came to their new home.

Struggling to get out of the Dane's grip, Emil eventually kicked him, causing Matthias to back off, but during this time, Emil's scarf lowered from his face. Matthias was horrified when he looked at Emil's face.

There was a darkened splotch on his lower jaw and his lip looked bloodied.

He demanded where Emil had gotten the injuries, but upon getting a snappy response, the Dane immediately seized the teenager and forced him to strip his shirt off to see if there were any more bruises. Because the boy hated to show his body (even at home in front of family), it became a screaming match that scared Peter into running out of the house, conveniently bumping into Tino who was coming home from the market with Lukas who was let off early from work.

Tino was horrified at seeing Emil's bruised jaw and bloodied lip and tried to ask as calmly as his voice could muster as to where he obtained them. Emil claimed that it was crashing into a tree during P.E. The whole time, Lukas' face was impassive; contemplating quietly, until he told (ordered) his brother to strip off his shirt as well.

Emil's response was as negative as he was towards Matthias. When Lukas tried to come close to his younger brother, he was roughly pushed away.

A loud slam of the door echoed throughout the now silent home.

Matthias wasn't sure what he could do to sort out Emil's problem, but after a conference between the adults, it was decided that they do nothing until things were either drastic or when Emil himself wanted to come clean. Berwald came with the solution to which Tino and Lukas agreed to.

However, with the Dane, it took a while for him to succumb.

"I'm home," Matthias announced as he opened the door. Immediately, he was met by a loud call of _"Uncle Matthias!"_ and a big hug from a small form. The Dane chuckled as he patted the boy hugging his waist. "How you doing, Pete? How was school?"

Peter gave a bright beam, "It was brilliant! Ms. Nguyen's really nice and she even gave us some chocolate!"

"Chocolate, huh?" Matthias grinned. "That sounds awesome! What kind?"

"Some cool Belgian ones that are shaped like shells! Here! Look!" the little boy excitedly pulled the sweet treats from the pockets of his blue shorts and pulled out a small sack filled with creamy brown and white chocolate that were finely crafted into shells and marine life of many kinds. The sack was made of plastic and tied with a lovely, red ribbon.

"That's pretty cool," said Matthias. "Your teacher really _does _sound nice, huh?"

"Yeah! She really is! Want some, Uncle Matthias? I already gave Mama Tino some and even Uncle Lukas got one!"

"Seriously?" Matthias arched both eyebrows in surprise. "_Norge _got one? Must be really awesome if he bothered to try one!" he fished a chocolate that was in the shape of a conch shell and popped it in his mouth. Immediately, a pleasant sweetness spread out all over his tongue and tingled, sending a pleasing warmth all over the Dane's body. A dreamy expression crossed Matthias' face and he gave a content sigh, "That _is _some good chocolate! Best I've tasted! Give me more!"

"No!" Peter said with a childish pout. "Come on, Uncle Matthias! I gotta save some for Papa Berwald and Uncle Emil!"

"Aww, come on! Just give me one more! Papa Berwald won't mind having one less!"

"Oh! Matthias, welcome home!" Tino greeted as he came into the room, wearing a flowery apron. He smiled warmly as the Dane now had the little boy in what appeared to be a noogie. Both were laughing elatedly. "Since you're still in your work clothes, could you do me a favour?"

"Favour, huh? Sure! What's up, Tino?" Matthias let go of the boy.

"Could you please go to the market and buy some things for me? It's just the necessities like food and a few other things. Is that alright?"

Matthias shrugged as he took the shopping list from Tino, "Sure, I'll go. Okay, I'm on my way!"

"Wait!" Peter tugged on the Danish man's muscular arm. "I wanna go, too! Please, Mama Tino? Can I go with Uncle Matthias to the market? I really wanna go!"

Tino sighed; he didn't know why the little boy insisted on calling him his _'mama'_, but decided to let it go – it meant that the boy saw him as family, right? He then placed the sweet smile back on his face as he nodded, "Sure, you can go. Just as long as Uncle Matthias is fine with it."

"You're kidding me, right? No way in hell would I have a problem with that!" suddenly, Matthias lifted Peter up onto his shoulders, earning a fit of laughter from the child. The Dane then pointed forward with one hand as he kept hold of Peter with the other, "Next stop! The market!"

"On we go!" called Peter in a similar upbeat tone as the Dane. "Let's go!" they immediately ran out of the door (Matthias was careful to duck extremely low) and hopped out to the front yard where Lukas was already coming homeward bound.

The Norwegian man looked at the pair with a stoic face as he arched an elegant eyebrow. "Where are you two going?" he asked in a tone to match.

"We're going to the market to get some stuff from the market," announced Matthias. "Wanna join us, Norge?"

"Pass," Lukas said in the same nonchalant tone. "I have other matters to attend to…"

Matthias shrugged, "Suit yourself, Norge! C'mon, Pete! Let's go onward to the market!"

"Yeah! See you later, Uncle Lukas!" Peter waved at the Norwegian man as Matthias dashed forward with him perched on his shoulders. Lukas simply watched the pair leave and gave a small wave back. However, as he entered through the front door, a tiny smile slowly spread across his usually blank face.

Once they reach the market, Matthias had placed Peter down and gained a red basket. He then whipped out Tino's list and the pair began their journey around the great shop. A few times, the Danish man called the boy to not go too far, the thought of losing him gave Matthias a heart attack.

Plus, he would get pounded in by everyone else at home.

Despite the basket getting more and more items, Matthias didn't seem bothered by the ongoing weight, and kept walking in his normal, laidback pace, his back and posture straight. Peter marvelled at the man's strength, "Uncle Matthias, isn't that basket heavy?"

"Huh?" Matthias stopped in his footsteps. "Not really. What makes you say that?"

"It's just that the basket's got so many things in it, but you don't look too bothered by it!" Peter pointed at the red basket, which was now loaded with two kinds of cheese, a roll of dog food, a pack of eight tubs of yoghurt, three small rolls of salami, a box of cereal, a Coke bottle and finally, two tubs of ice cream.

The Dane burst out laughing, "Ha! You wanna know why? Because I'm really strong! And hence why, I'm awesome." He then leaned down and patted the boy's head, "You'll be strong, too, when you get older. Here, why don't you take the list and tell me what to get. Sound fair?"

Peter nodded and took the list from the Danish man. "Okay!" he announced. "Now, we need some eggs!"

"Eggs!" Matthias stopped at a freezing aisle, the cool air dusting his arms, and picked a carton of sixteen eggs. He carefully placed it to the top of the basket. "Check! What's next?"

"One tub of sour cream!"

"One tub of sour cream…" Matthias picked it from the cold shelf and placed it into the basket. "Check! And what's next?"

"One bottle of milk!"

"One bottle of milk coming right up!" Matthias picked it from the shelf. His fingers wrapped around the smooth, glass surface, but by the time he looked back at his basket, it was already filled. "Oh…" he then gave a shrug and decided to carry it in his free hand. "That's done, what's next?"

"Six tomatoes!"

"Okay, six tomatoes! Here we co-"

All of a sudden, he bumped into something smaller, not paying attention to what was in front of him. Giving a surprised grunt, Matthias backed off slightly, taken off guard.

The sound of smashing glass soon followed.

"Oh, shit!"

* * *

_And so ends the first chapter of this story - honestly, I think there will be about six to seven chapters in this one. You don't have to read A Piece of Me before this story. What do you think happened to Matthias and Peter? I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions._

_Have a nice day! :DDD_


	2. The Patissieur

_Hello again - it's just me, HetaWriter/HetaReader. A very big thanks to **Lilypad the Fourth** for the follow, **Ms Maddie **for the fave, **Guest **for reviewing, and a very big one for **Benevolent Ice Queen **for the follow, fave AND the review! _

_Here comes a new chapter coming your way, however this one is coming from Emma (Belgium's) perspective. By the way, Lars is Netherlands/Holland._

_**Guest:** I think Den would make a great uncle - I imagine him to be the fun-loving sort. Your guess isn't far-off. With Iceland, that aspect will go in greater detail in another story I've got in mind - one that involves him and Turkey (no, Turkey didn't beat him up).  
_

_**Benevolent Ice Queen:** I have an eye for detail, huh? Hahaha, I'm a sucker when it comes to descriptions and I want the reader to fully immerse themselves in the story as if they were right there. I'm glad I kept everyone in-character (was worried about Finland's one) and yes, Matthias is a great uncle, isn't he?  
_

_**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Hetalia.  
_

_Hope you enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

Emma inhaled deeply, her green eyes glowing as she looked around the interior of the building.

There were cobwebs on the very dark corners of the shelves and it was lined with many specks of dust. The counter was just as filthy and the wooden tiled floor was traced with vast amounts of grime and dirt. The door looked like a battered, broken arm as it hung limply on its hinge. The window was heavily smudged and also as dusty and run-down as the rest of the components inside.

Outside, the building had white paint ready to peel off its walls at any moment, worn from abandonment and seemingly weary from quite an age. The tiled roof had a gaping hole in it and there were weeds sprouting everywhere at the front of the building.

However, Emma wasn't disgusted at all by the appearance of this building. In fact; she was delighted.

One would think that the Belgian woman was crazy – how could anyone love such a run-down and grubby little building that looked like it hadn't seen any better days? Well, the answer to that was simple.

This would be her new shop.

All her life, Emma aspired to run a patisserie; much like her mother had back home in Brussels. She didn't come from a rich family; however they were never out of money as the little shop had a sufficient amount of customers. So, they were pretty much average; satisfied to get the necessities.

Ultimately, everyone was happy – her father, her mother and her older brother.

Unfortunately, disaster struck when she turned ten – her mother had gotten into an accident that involved colliding head-on with a driver. In truth, that driver was completely drunk off his rocker and after seeing a blur of colours, crashed straight into poor Emma's mother.

Emma's father never did fully recover from the loss of his dearly departed wife and he grieved for days on end; he always wore black and he spent most of his time in his room, sobbing after his beloved wife. His condition worsened up to the point that the doctor recommended that they move to a new place and live life all over again; for his sake.

Emma didn't want to leave Brussels; it was a beautiful place and the one place that she called home. However, seeing that her father's condition was rapidly deteriorating, she and her older brother decided that it was for the best.

So now here she was – no longer a child, but a full-grown woman in the prime of her life. At the age of twenty-four, Emma van Stein had finished with her studies and her exams, and after searching and asking around tirelessly, finally found an empty building where she could finally set up her shop.

Of course, despite the building being a total wreck, it was already becoming special to her.

It was going to be _her _shop.

"This place is a dump," grumbled a tall man from behind her. He had short and spiky, dirty blonde hair with sideburns as well as the inherited green eyes that were rendered sharp from the scowl present on his face. He had a small, vertical scar on the right side of his forehead, over his eyes and wore a long scarf adorned with stripes that consisted of the colours navy blue and white.

"It looks like one now," Emma agreed. "But soon, it's gonna be the new shop!" she clasped her hands together and felt like jumping for joy. "I can't wait!"

The tall, blonde man, her older brother Lars, gave a sigh, "It'll take forever to sort this shithole out…"

Emma chuckled, "Not if the both of us work hard to clean it up!"

Lars rolled his eyes, "In case you haven't noticed, there's a freaking _hole _in the roof." He pointedly glanced up at said hole – it _did _look pretty bad; it would prove its drama once rain decided to drop in. "I don't wanna stay in this place if it rains…"

Emma shook her head, still smiling, "Come on, bro! We can do it! Soon, we can sell pastries and sweets in the shop! Just like mom did when we were kids! Doesn't that sound nice?"

Whenever their mother was cooking, Emma and Lars would watch her eagerly (though the latter pretended not to care). It was amazing to see her transform six different sorts of items into a big mass of (at first) gloppy ooze, and finally into a more defined and sweet masterpiece, created from experience, expertise and the goodness of her heart.

Every so often, the two siblings would help their mother with the baking and thus, it was unsurprising that both had taken a great interest in following with her footsteps.

Lars wouldn't admit it at first, but he had a great fondness for sweets and instead of _one sweet tooth_, had a _set_ of _sweet teeth_ that was far worse than Emma's. Emma had begun memorising her mother's recipes by heart and soon, was able to make them from the top of her head. After a while, Lars joined her in memorising those recipes and the pair soon knew their mother's personal cookbooks by heart.

It was very handy though, as whenever her mother became sick, Emma and Lars would try to take over the patisserie as much as they could.

Back to the present, the tall Dutch man stayed silent, his face deep in thought as he pondered about the idea of making sweets. Finally, he gave a shrug, "Don't have anything else better to do…yeah, why not?"

And so forth, since that very day, Emma, with the help of her older brother, Lars, began cleaning around the shabby little building; hoping to transform it from its grimy and shambled state to one that was worthy for the recipes treasured from a woman that was the inspiration to the two siblings.

Day after day, Emma would wipe away at the shelves and the counter with a simple rag. She would also sweep the dust away on the floors with a simple broom and used the handle of it to bring down the webs that gathered on the corners, all while humming a simple song to herself.

Lars meanwhile, would pick the weeds outside and also cleaned and wiped away any of the furnishings inside with a scrutinizing eye. He placed all of their belongings in the compartment behind the shop's storage area where the products would lie. There, the compartment was a lot like a small house – consisting of two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom.

Thank God they cleaned that place up first.

That new home wasn't as bad as the shop though, so it attributed as to why they were able to live in it and be able clean the shop. Though Emma had shrieked when she had seen a few spiders while taking a shower – Lars quickly came to the rescue and mercilessly whacked them with a rolled-up newspaper. It only took them two whole days to make the compartment a liveable space, and soon, Emma was able to lie back in a comfy bed while Lars was able to watch his FIFA in peace.

After a week, Emma and Lars were able to clean up and polish the shop as best as they could, however there were still plenty of things that needed fixing.

There was the broken door hanging on its hilt, the smudged windows (that Lars cursed with a passion since he couldn't clean away their smudges no matter how hard he tried to wipe), the pathetic, peeling paint that coated the building, the blocked plumbing inside the shop, and the obvious hole in the roof…

After trying hard to somehow find a way to fix all the casualties without causing further damage (and proving no success), both siblings then opted to find a handyman to maybe help them out in fixing the remaining spots before finally deciding to open the shop. However, that caused a question –

Where would they even _find _a handyman?

Lars insisted that he go around town and find said handyman while Emma should start working on which recipes she should cook and what should go where in the store; where the tables and chairs would go for any customer that wanted to drop by, what pastries should be cooked, and where which pastry should be displayed…

Emma tried to argue that she wanted to help him search for a handyman, but Lars sternly told her, in his own blunt way, "The town's like a preppy schoolgirl – happy and normal looking outside in the morning, but inside during night, it _will_ be a bitch."

So against the Belgian woman's wishes, her brother began searching around for a handyman while the Belgian woman herself decided to pick out recipes. By using some of the money she saved, she decided to buy the ingredients necessary to make them.

She was on her way to the market to buy everything noted down on her list, which consisted of far more writing than she initially thought. Gazing around the properly lined aisles, she began searching for the objects listed down, eventually crossing them off one-by-one with a red pen as she continued exploring down the neat and finely stacked aisles.

'_Eggs…check! Butter…check! Sugar…check! Flour…check! Milk…check! Five whole blocks of chocolate…check! Six tomatoes…'_

She was abruptly brought out of her concentration by bumping into something rather large and hard. Because she was completely taken aback, her smaller frame stumbled slightly a few steps backward.

Emma had dropped the block of chocolate she was about to place into her basket. There was a loud grunt of surprise, followed quickly by a loud smash of breaking glass.

"Oh my…!"

* * *

_I notice this chapter is much shorter than the previous one. I think it's mainly due to the fact that Matthias is the main and central character. Hopefully, you know what's about to come next after this. Don't worry though; Matthias will be in the next one._

_Thoughts and opinions? Have a nice day, everyone! :DDD_


	3. Gathering the Ingredients

_Thank you to **Xou **for the follow and the review. And a big thanks to **Ms Maddie **for the big review!  
_

_This time, you'll all know what happened going from the end of both Matthias' and Emma's accounts. Matthias I still think is the more central character, so his views will be more seen._

_**Xou: **Again, thank you for the follow and the review!  
_

_**Ms Maddie:** You think my story is awesome? Thank you so much! Don't worry, I don't think it's stupidity that you thought the woman in the beginning with Matthias was Emma - it was an honest mistake. But with all due respect, I would never cast any of the nations in a role like that - I don't see anyone fitting that role and I don't really hate the nations either. That woman will appear later, anyway. I felt a little bad at first making Peter sick, but I became fine with it since he gets better anyway. As for Emil, you're not wrong on him being beaten up, but that's a different story altogether in a separate piece I'm planning with him and Turkey (and no, Turkey isn't the one who beats him up). I'm glad I was able to capture the grimness of the situation since I was never bullied myself (though I do know people who were, even are). Your review wasn't pointless at all; I really appreciate it!  
_

_**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Hetalia.  
_

_Shall we move on with the story?_

* * *

"What the hell?" Matthias looked before him to see _what _he had bumped into when he was met with warm, light green hues.

His jaw dropped slightly as he stared at the owner of these lovely orbs, seeing a blonde woman wearing a simple aqua dress that reached her calves with a pale lavender bolero jacket over it. She was leaning down to pick up a block of chocolate she seemed to have dropped from their collision. He couldn't help but stare at how soft her wavy, yellow gold hair was and admired how her face was free from any blemish. She had almond eyes, a finely shaped nose and a full set of pink lips.

"Uncle Matthias! Uncle Matthias!" Peter called to the Danish man repeatedly, now worried at the stunned expression on the Dane's face. "Come on, Uncle Matthias!"

Matthias eventually heard the recurring calls from the little boy and shook his head, mentally slapping himself. What the hell had gotten into him? He then approached the lady, swallowed a lump that somehow _magically _appeared in his throat and asked, "Erm…you…you need some help there?"

Unlike Matthias, Emma hadn't noticed what caused her to drop her chocolate at first; opting to pick up the necessary ingredient before discovering what or whom had caused her to stumble. However, as she looked up from hearing a male voice traced with a rather thick accent ask if she required assistance, she was instantly met by a pair of baby blues.

The owner to the pair of said baby blues was a rather tall man with a muscular build. He had short and spiky blonde hair that was swept slightly to his right and he had a slightly long face as well as a curved nose. He had high cheekbones; no signs of scars or acne and judging from a slight indent in one cheek, Emma assumed that this man had dimples. Her eyes had widened just a little bit upon gazing at him.

Peter was now very concerned upon seeing that the two adults were now seemingly frozen in their positions as they continued staring right into the other's eyes, rather spaced out expressions on their faces.

Warm green against baby blue.

The child began tugging on the Danish man's arm and piped up, "Uncle Matthias! The milk!"

"Milk…?" Matthias instantly gazed over and his eyes were now fixed upon the smashed bottle on the floor. The white liquid from within, slowly spreading around the sharp fragments. "Crap!"

"I'm so sorry," Emma apologized, finally catching herself staring at this stranger. She didn't know what had come over her – it was very impolite to stare after all. "I didn't mean to bump into you; now you lost a bottle of milk because of me."

"No, no, no, _I'm _sorry," Matthias spoke up as he placed a hand over his chest. "_I _bumped into _you_ and well…" he groaned. "Looks like I have to pay for that…"

"No, I'll pay," Emma insisted. "It's only fair, isn't it? It was my fault in the first place."

"No way could I let you do that!" protested Matthias. "That's not right! A woman shouldn't be paying for a stupid mistake that I caused!"

Emma shook her head, "It's fine – I insist. You can have my bottle and I'll just get a new one and pay for this one. Sounds right, doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't! I feel like a complete idiot – _I'll _pay."

"Why don't you _both_ just pay for it?" spoke up Peter, now annoyed. The two adults gazed down at the child, who had his arms crossed over his chest, a pout present on his face, "You can _both _pay for it and therefore, no-one feels that it's their fault! And that's fair too, right?"

Matthias gulped, feeling his face heat up; he was babbling like an idiot and he looked like a complete fool in front of Peter and probably, the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Smooth move, there…

Emma smiled, "You're right. Absolutely right." She then leaned down a little to go on eye-level with Peter, "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Peter!" the child said proudly, puffing his chest out. "I'm Peter! It's nice to meet you, ma'am!"

The Belgian woman gave a giggle, "Oh, no need for formalities! Just call me Emma." She smiled at the Danish man, "May I ask what _your_ name is?"

Matthias swallowed, rubbing the side of his head as he responded, "M-Matthias. I'm Matthias…" the Dane was shocked at how much strength he had to muster to keep his voice from shaking uncontrollably.

"It's nice to meet you, Matthias," Emma said earnestly, flashing him a warm smile. Her hand was extended outward. Matthias stared at it for a moment, his eyes slightly widened, but after catching himself he immediately shot his hand out so as not to look rude.

He was amazed at how soft that petite hand felt against his large and rough one. Likewise, Emma was in awe at how strong yet gentle the hold of the large hand she was gripping was.

"Uncle Matthias, come on!" piped up Peter. "We need to get the rest of the things for Mama Tino! It's getting really late!"

"H-huh? Oh! Right!" Matthias smacked his forehead – he had completely forgotten as to _why _he was at the market in the first place. He accepted the bottle of milk from the Belgian woman as she then checked her list. "You got…some more shopping to do?" the Danish man asked, trying to make some conversation.

The Belgian woman nodded, "Just some tomatoes, then I'll be on my way."

"H-hey! I'm looking for tomatoes, too!" spoke up the Danish man, flashing a big smile, though he was starting to feel rather self-conscious. "How about we all go and get some?"

Emma gave a shrug, the smile still planted on her face, "Sure, I have no problem with that."

The three had obtained the red fruits in a rather short time, in Matthias' opinion. During this time, they were both silent as they inspected the tomatoes, judging the ripeness and plumpness until there were six in both of their bags. Emma was gently squeezing the tomato to confirm its quality as Matthias watched her. He couldn't help but gaze at the great care that the Belgian woman had towards the product, but quickly tore his eyes away before she could catch him staring.

After leaving the counter (where both had paid for the broken milk bottle), they parted ways. Emma pointed to the left, "I live in that direction. I really need to be getting home; my brother worries if I don't come home after a while."

Matthias nodded in understanding as he pointed to the opposite direction, "Pete here and I have to get going, too. We live that way."

Emma smiled, "It was really nice meeting you, Matthias."

The Danish man gave a jovial laugh, "Right back at you, Emma! See you again…maybe?"

The Belgian woman gave a soft giggle, "Maybe…" and with that, after a wave, she turned around and made her way home. Secretly, as she hummed to herself on her way home, she began to wonder if she would see the Danish man again.

Little did she know that Matthias was having much similar thoughts.

He was suddenly in his own little world up high in the clouds as he stared skyward, unaware of what was going on around him. He was walking in a rather dazed fashion as the visage of Emma's face was still glowing brightly in his thoughts. His own face had a rather wondering, faraway look to it, which naturally concerned Peter.

The little boy wasn't sure what to think upon seeing the Danish man in such a weird state – he wasn't sick, was he? He tugged on Matthias' arm, trying to lead him back home.

Emma was distracted, Lars noticed; as soon as he came home, he saw her walking with a rather wondering look on her face, seemingly looking at something that wasn't in his line of view, and she didn't seem to be paying much attention when he called her a few times, either. Her humming also had a more soft and dream-like tone, which was unlike her usually cheery and bouncy melodies.

Naturally, the Dutch man was worried.

"What's gotten into you?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

The Belgian woman was immediately snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh…?"

"I'll repeat again," the Dutch man said, slightly annoyed. "What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Oh…" Emma shook her head. "It's nothing, really. I'm just…distracted…"

"Distracted?" Lars asked. "Is it because of the shop?"

"Oh…yes," Emma said; she knew it was a lie, but her brother had a rather overprotective streak when it concerned to the company she associated herself with.

Back home at Brussels, he had already chased off five suitors who were after the Belgian woman's heart. When they moved here, Lars chased off a good several more with cold ferocity. Emma had even heard one of them claim that it was Lars' fault for his broken nose, to which the Dutchman denied. She didn't want to believe it, and instead, disregarded it.

"I'm just excited to finally bake something for the shop."

"Well, you'll be doing it soon," Lars said with a nod. "I bumped into this Swedish guy on my way back. After taking a while to understand what the hell he was saying, he told me he claims he knows a handyman who'd be willing to fix up the place."

"Really?" Emma's attention was immediately brought back. "Really? When can he work?"

Lars smirked at finally capturing his sister's concentration, "The guy I spoke to said he'd tell the handyman tonight, so hopefully; the handyman will come in and start looking at the damages tomorrow. Then hopefully, the day after, he'll start working."

Emma was ecstatic, "Oh my God! I can't wait! We're going to open our patisserie soon! Isn't that wonderful, bro?" she immediately ran over and wrapped her arms around the Dutch man's neck. Lars gave a snort as he patted his sister's arm, a rolled up newspaper in hand.

The Belgian woman was so delighted, that she had completely forgotten about the new friend she met at the store.

"Mama Tino!" Peter cried as soon as he was able to lead Matthias back home. "Mama Tino! Help! Come over here! There's something wrong!"

Immediately, Tino, Berwald and Lukas rushed into the room as soon as they heard the boy's cries for help. Emil had emerged from his room, too; peering from the top of the stairs. "What? What is it, Peter?" Tino asked in alarm. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's Uncle Matthias!" Peter pointed at the Danish man, who still had that spacey, far-off expression etched on his face. "There's something wrong with him! He's acting all weird!"

Lukas sighed, "There's always something wrong with him. Worry not, Peter; he _always _acts weird…"

"What happened?" Tino questioned, noticing the strange expression on the Danish man's face. "I'm glad you bought all of the groceries, but what happened, Peter? Tell us."

"He bumped into this lady and dropped the bottle of milk! Then they both acted weird! They kept staring at each other all googly eyed and insisted that they should pay for the milk and after when _I_ told them that they _both _should pay it, they agreed, but Uncle Matthias continued staring at her again as we all went to buy tomatoes!" the child spoke in such a rush, that Emil was starting to get confused.

Lukas arched an eyebrow, "So…he was acting this way because he met a woman?"

"Yeah!"

"Care to tell us what this woman was like?"

Peter tapped at his chin, his eyes looking upward as he thought carefully, "Well…she was really pretty. She had golden hair and green eyes. And she was really nice, too!"

Tino then gave a sigh of relief, which was then replaced by a chuckle as his gaze fell on the Dane. "Oh, Matthias!" he chuckled. "You silly man!"

Lukas rolled his eyes, "Idiot…" he then pinched Matthias by the ear, prompting the Danish man to crash back into reality.

"Owww! Norge! That really hurt!" whined Matthias as he gave a childish pout in the Norwegian man's direction. "Seriously! What the hell was that for?"

"For being an idiot as usual," Lukas said tonelessly. "Next time you see a stunning woman; don't just stare at her like a creeper."

Matthias' mouth was flapping up and down in shock as the Norwegian man calmly returned into the kitchen to finally pick up the cup that contained that lovely smelling tea that his new friend, Arthur, had given him during their shift together earlier that day.

Berwald finally spoke up, "Matthias."

Said Dane reverted his attention to the tall Swede. "What?" he asked.

"Found a job for you."

This definitely gained the Dane's attention. Matthias perked up instantly, "A job, really? For me? What is it, Waldo?"

"Bumped into this Dutchman on my way home," Berwald continued in his low voice, though he was slightly annoyed at the nickname the Dane bestowed upon him. "Said he and his sister will open a shop, but the place was a dump. Said they needed a handyman to help with some damages they cannot fix…"

"Really now?" Matthias laughed. "Well, with me on the job, the shithole will look awesome in no time!" his laugh was immediately caught off by Lukas slapping his arm. "Oww! _Norge_!" he whined childishly. "What was _that _for?"

Lukas looked stern, mug in hand, "No swearing in front of Peter." He gestured to the kitchen to where Peter was following Tino for some hot chocolate.

Matthias instantly reddened as he rubbed the back of his head. He chuckled sheepishly, "Right! Sorry…"

* * *

_Sorry if my writing is a bit sloppy, but to be honest, I really don't know what it's like to be in a romantic position (forever alone). Haha, I imagine it to be a feeling you cannot describe. But, anyway...here's a question for you guys: what do you guys thinks Lars will be like if he met Matthias? How would Lars react if he discovers Matthias would become a suitor?_

_Share you thoughts and opinions, guys? They make me happy. Hahaha, have a nice day! :DDD_


	4. Sorting Out Equipment

_Hello again, it's just me, HetaWriter/HetaReader. Matthias and Emma meet again! Thanks go to **Xou **and **Benevolent Ice Queen** for the reviews!_

_**Xou:** Don't feel bad about not giving me a long review; I'm glad you like this story. Haha, yeah I came across Denmark x Belgium by accident, but since I'm a huge cracker, I started loving it right away. K-kiss? *blushes*  
_

_**Benevolent Ice Queen: **I find the clashing personalities and relationship between Lars and Emma to be quite nice, too. It somewhat reminds me of my own sister and I - her being Belgium, and I the Netherlands. Ah, I'm glad you don't mind that my chapters are short and thank you very much for saying that it's well written! Yes, I will try to update this daily, but I'm not sure by now how many chapters there will be in the end...DenBel is one of your OTP's? You're awesomer than Prussia.  
_

_**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Hetalia.  
_

_Now on we go!_

* * *

The next day brought the start to the weekend. After playing a considerable amount of time with Peter in the morning, Matthias gathered his toolbox, slung his bag over his shoulder and after eating a great lunch with salmon, he waved goodbye to Tino and Peter and set off to the address scrawled on a small piece of paper that Berwald gave him.

Eventually, after questioning some random passers-by, the Dane was able to make it to the address and arched his eyebrows upon looking at the shabby, run-down building before his eyes.

It looked so old and beaten up, that Matthias began to wonder how it was able to hold its own during windy weather.

The Dane scratched his head and shrugged, smirking to himself; this one looked quite like a challenge with its dilapidated, little state.

And Matthias loved a good challenge.

He entered the door, hearing a tinkling from some chimes above his head, and looked around. Much to his surprise, the building was much cleaner inside than what the exterior led him to believe.

The floors were swept and mopped clean, the counter had little to no traces of dust, and even the shelves lacked grime themselves. The only thing that killed the seemingly perfect appearance was the door leading to the back; hanging by its hinge.

"Hello?" Matthias called. "Hello, Dutchman?" he remembered Berwald mentioning that it was a _Dutch_ man who had requested for his services after all. Too bad that the Swede failed to provide him with a name. "Dutchman, you in here?"

When he received no response, Matthias blew some strands of loose blonde hair that dangled slightly over his right eye. He whistled to himself as he drummed his fingers onto the counter, wondering where his employer was.

That was when he noticed a silver bell, its sparkly surface glinting cheekily at him.

The Danish man gazed down at the bell with slight interest, admiring how shiny the silver surface was. Looking around again to see if there were any signs of movement, Matthias saw that there were none. He then poked at its side and finally pressed it, causing a loud ring to emanate throughout the store.

Matthias glanced around to see if he was able to attract anyone's attention.

Nope, nobody came.

A little annoyed, the Dane then chose to ring the bell again. Another loud _'ding!'_ echoed throughout the whole shop. Suddenly greatly entertained by the bell and its ringing, Matthias gave a small chuckle as he began to whistle and press the bell in an oddly constant beat. He tapped his foot as well as he swayed his head around.

"What the hell is that noise?" grumbled Lars from the couch. He had fallen asleep on it as he watched the FIFA tournament on the television for the whole night. The Dutchman hadn't bothered to get up from his butt and collapse onto his bed, opting instead to stay and sleep on the couch with his coat acting as a makeshift blanket.

Emma came inside with an empty laundry basket. She stared at her brother as she asked, "Bro, what's going on? Who's ringing the shop bell?"

"The hell would I know?" mumbled Lars as he rolled over on his side, now facing the couch. "Go tell the bastard to shut up and get lost…"

"What if it's the handyman?"

Lars slowly craned his neck to face her; his green eyes were now red with dark bags under them from the lack of sleep. "Hit him on the head with his own wrench, whack him in the vital regions with his hammer," he suggested darkly, pale face murderous. "_Anything _to shut him up…"

Emma sighed when he dropped his head back down onto a cushion, "Oh, Lars…" nevertheless, she smoothed her apron and exited the compartment towards the shop as the bell's ringing grew louder and more irritating, practically wailing into her ears. She rubbed her head, _'Seriously? Who's doing this?'_

"Alright, alright! I'm here, now what is it that you need?"

Matthias stopped as soon as he heard a very familiar female voice reach his ears. His jaw dropped when he saw who entered the room.

Likewise, Emma's green orbs widened when she saw who was causing the racket with the store's bell. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's you! Um…" she snapped her fingers. "Matthias! From the market! Hi!"

After a few blinks, Matthias mentally slapped himself as he stood upright, posture now straight as the Belgian woman approached the counter. "Y-yeah," he said, shocked that his usually booming voice was now trembling like a leaf. "Yeah, it's me. Hello to you, too, Emma. I didn't know you owned this place…"

At this remark, Emma gave a tinkling laugh, "Yeah, well…this will be mine and my brother's patisserie!"

"Patisserie?" Matthias tilted his head slightly. Sweets came into mind and soon, he remembered when Peter had come home with the seashell shaped chocolates. He couldn't help but lick his lips at the thought of sweets. "Mmm…"

Emma nodded, "That's right! Once this place is fully cleaned up and restored, my bro and I will make this our very own patisserie!"

A smile came onto Matthias' face as he eyed the sparkle in the Belgian woman's emerald eyes. He laughed, "Can't wait to try your products when that comes! Okay, now since you hired me – what's up?" he then pulled out a notepad along with a mini pencil that was smaller than his index finger. Emma marvelled at how he could even hold it, "What do you need my services for, anyway?"

"Well, a few things," Emma began, but hearing the door suddenly give a loud creak, followed by a heavy crash, the Belgian woman yelped while Matthias jumped. She whipped around as the Dane viewed over her shoulder.

The door had finally given way, fallen off from its hinge and crashed onto the ground.

Both were glad that the Belgian woman's counter was _way _at the front.

"Make that _several _things," said Emma sheepishly.

Matthias couldn't help but burst out laughing. He began scribbling down on his notepad, "Busted door needs to be fixed…anything else?"

And so Emma began leading the Danish man around the shop and pointed out what needed to be fixed. Matthias followed her around and wrote down more on his notepad, feeling more excited at the amount of damages the building had – this would be a great challenge for him.

And he loved challenges.

"Busted pipeline that doesn't work, hole in the roof needs to be patched up, paint job to be done, windows need to have a thorough clean…" Matthias whistled at his list. He looked at Emma, his baby blues sparkling as he grinned, "You sure need my help here."

Emma smoothed out her apron as she chuckled, "Indeed, we do. Lars tried to clean the windows himself, but after trying for two hours, he cursed at it and gave up."

"I see," Matthias rubbed his chin as he stared at the window, contemplating. "Very well then, I'll clean up the place, sure! I'll come over tomorrow and clean it up – I would need to get all the stuff; I didn't think I would need _this _much to clean up."

"Sorry if we took up your time," Emma began apologetically, but Matthias waved a hand dismissively.

"Nah, don't be! It's my job after all," Matthias flashed her a bright, warm smile with even-spaced pearly whites.

As she gazed at the Dane's face for a bit, she realized that she _was _right – he _did _have dimples. And they accentuated the radiant smile on his face very well.

Matthias began to feel very self-conscious when his employed didn't respond. She was staring right at him, and he thought in alarm, _'There's nothing on my face, is there?!'_

"Who the hell are you?" questioned a new voice in a gruff, grumbling tone.

Emma snapped out of her stupor while Matthias whipped his head in direction to the new voice. This particular voice sounded male and much more grown.

Lars had come walking into the shop, unable to fall back to sleep anymore and decided to make some coffee to help him rise up. He had heard Emma talking animatedly with somebody and became highly suspicious when he heard that the person she was with was _male_.

Matthias stared at Lars for a moment and tilted his head to his right. Lars glared right at the stranger; his green eyes still had the dark bags underneath them. He sipped his coffee, Matthias was amused that there was a rabbit on the cup's surface.

"I'll repeat again," Lars said, his voice soft and deadly. "Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in here?"

"Bro, this is Matthias!" Emma spoke up, spreading a smile on her face. "He's the handyman!"

The intense flame flickered slightly upon the information. The Dutchman stared at the woman, "Seriously? _He's_ the handyman?"

"Yeah! That's me!" Matthias pointed at himself with a thumb. "I'm gonna fix this place up!"

Lars said nothing but his shoulders began to relax as he gazed at the Danish man up and down. He then rubbed his chin with one hand, the other securely holding his Miffy mug, as he peered closely at Matthias.

The Danish man didn't seem to notice that the Dutchman was staring at him and simply read at his notes, beginning to plan out what to fix first and what he needed and not needed for tomorrow.

Emma was nervous from the whole scene before her; her brother never liked cheerful men, that was a known fact. She remembered back in high school, one of her closest friends was a Spaniard who had a kind and caring personality with a smile that rivalled the sun. He was the sweetest boy she had ever known.

Lars hated him with a passion.

However, the Belgian woman attributed Lars' negative feelings from their high school soccer team as well. Lars loved playing soccer and was excited in trying out for the team, but became bedridden with the flu for a whole week, meaning he missed try-outs. Antonio became the school's star striker, which irked the Dutchman since he claimed that he could easily see many weak points in the Spaniard's playing.

Emma in the end was able to convince the coach to keep Lars as a reserve; she knew that her big brother was an exceptional player. He was able to do a private try-out and was given a position as a reserve.

Of course, that all happened several years ago and Emma didn't know what happened to Antonio since then. It was actually quite a large town after all, so it was unsurprising that she couldn't find the Spaniard anymore.

"You look alright, I guess…"

Emma was snapped back into reality upon hearing her brother mumble. Matthias looked up from his notes, a perplexed expression etched onto his face.

"Huh?" the Dane asked, blue eyes feigning innocence.

Lars narrowed his eyes slightly as he took a sip from his mug, "I said I think you're alright…for now…"

"Of course I'm alright!" grinned Matthias. "Why would I _not _be alright?"

"…a lot of things float by your head, do they?"

"Wait, I don't understand what you mean there; I don't see anything floating by me. Oh! Or can you see stuff like Norge as well?!"

Before her brother could made a snide comment (she could see the Dutchman arch his eyebrow already), Emma quickly cut in, "Okay! Well bro, Matthias said that he'll be able to start fixing things tomorrow, so I guess we'll tune in until then, right?"

Lars snorted with a half-hearted shrug as he then turned his back to the pair, "Whatever floats your boat…" and without another word, the Dutchman sauntered away back to the compartment.

Emma gave a sigh of relief as she turned to Matthias, "I'm sorry if Lars caused any offense; he's not really a bad guy…"

"Cause any offense?" Matthias questioned as he scratched his head. "He didn't offend me in any way…nah! I think he's a cool guy!"

Emma breathed easily again as she smiled, "I'm glad to hear that! Not many people try to understand him at all – he can be really sweet if he wants to."

"Just like Norge," Matthias softly noted to himself. He shook his head, the bright beam returning to his face, "Well, Miss Emma; I'll be coming by tomorrow to start repairs immediately! You can count on that!"

"Thank you so much!" the Belgian woman gave a sincere smile as she clasped her hands at the front and gave a respectful bow. "That really means so much to us!"

Matthias suddenly felt his heart flutter then skip a beat as he gazed right into the woman's eyes. His breath hitched into his throat as his baby blues continued to bear right into those emerald orbs. Not only were her eyes sparkled with such a brilliant light, but her smile made her glow even more.

'_Lort…' _he thought to himself as he felt his face start to slowly come alight. _'She is so beautiful…'_

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow, then?" Emma asked, smile still on her face as she made her way to the back opening. Her sweet voice had cut the Danish man out of his spacey daze.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes, tomorrow," Emma nodded. "So you can fix the door, the roof and everything else that needs to be fixed, of course!"

"Oh…" Matthias didn't know why, but he couldn't help but feel slightly disheartened from the choice of words that spilled out from the Belgian woman's lovely lips. However, he soon perked up and forced a big grin on his face again. "Of course!" he chirped. "You can bet that I'll fix everything to perfect condition!"

Emma giggled at how enthusiastic he was, "Can't wait for that! Well, goodbye, Matthias! See you tomorrow!"

And with that, like an angel, she floated away.

Matthias watched her leave. He cleared his throat as he gathered his toolbox and slung his bag over his shoulder. A small smile braced his now reddened face as he said in a soft voice that even shocked himself, "Can't wait to start tomorrow, either."

* * *

_Sappy chapter ending is sappy. But hopefully nobody will brick me yet for doing that._

_I honestly don't know now how many chapters this will be, because I'm acting more on impulse and my typing hand than with a plan anymore. I still need to try and update HetaVoice and The Soldier! *Goes in emo corner and starts rocking self back and forth* _

_Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. As always, I would love to know your thoughts and opinions. Have a nice day! :DDD_


	5. Different Quantities

_Greetings to you all - HetaWriter/HetaReader here again. A new chapter for you guys, and for some reason, it's long. Thanks go to **Nyui** for the fave and follow, as well as to **K-Ojousama** for the follow. Big thanks also goes to **Xou **for the review!_

_**Xou:** I try to post during times that will work out for most of us - which to me, is about 10 am - 12pm at my neck of the woods. I'm relieved that you didn't think the previous chapter was sappy - I actually think I need more practice with writing romance stories; I don't want them to sound cliche or anything. Hahaha, I'm glad I converted you to DenBel! They're both such warm and cheerful people - except Denmark can be too hyper and controlling - but I tend to think that Belgium's sweetness and maturity can tame him. Switzerland x Belarus? Hmm...I'll have to look that one up later. Netherlands always struck me as the overprotective brother type - someone claimed he broke their nose before, too. It's actually fun to write his character out. And you're not weird for thinking he's really cute (I'm like that towards Vietnam and Liechtenstein). Tune in for later chapters to find out who else will appear ;) and don't worry about your rambles - I actually appreciate you saying a lot to me in regards to this story - it helps me develop more as a writer.  
_

_Now in comes Matthias ready to start fixing things._

* * *

And so it was the day following after, Matthias woke up bright and early, eating a simple breakfast of two slices of buttered toast and three rashes of bacon as well as a side of scrambled eggs. He sprung out of the house with his toolbox and his bag slung over his shoulder, seemingly having a greater bounce in his steps, if that was possible.

Matthias whistled a cheery tune to himself as he strolled down the streets, unaware that the sky overhead was a miserable shade of grey and the clouds were rolling in ominously. He paid no attention to it at all, since there was only one thing that was focused on his mind.

A beautiful Belgian patissieur with a shining smile.

'_Wait…no!'_ Matthias shook his head as he suddenly slapped himself. A random passer-by gave him a strange look, but the Danish man didn't seem to notice them. _'I meant fixing the shop! Fixing the shop!'_

The Danish man plastered the smile back onto his face as he entered the run-down building, to be greeted this time by Emma. She beamed when she saw him enter, "You're here!"

Matthias nodded, "I'm here! Here and ready to work!" a little thought couldn't help but creep into his mind though…

'_Was she…waiting for me?'_

The Danish man felt his face flush at a sweet notion such as that one, but quickly cleared his throat and spoke up, "Well…I'll start on the door first. That alright with you?"

Emma nodded, "Of course! You're the handyman, you know better than I do about how to fix things." She went through the opening though before Matthias could start his work, "I'll just be at the compartment from here. Just come get me if you need something, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good luck!" Emma again floated away, her blonde hair practically glowing like a halo from the sun's rays bouncing on them.

Matthias couldn't help but watch after her again, admiring how the sunlight captured the hues and shades of yellow gold on her wavy locks. Once she was out of sight, he rubbed the side of his head and lowered his toolbox onto the floor while placing his bag on top of the counter close to the bell. He opened his toolbox and began taking out a medium-sized hammer.

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen of her compartment, Emma was humming happily to herself as she began taking out a bowl, a measuring cup, a wooden spoon and a teaspoon. She went to the fridge and also pulled out some cream, unsalted butter and more importantly: chocolate. She also took out some brandy from the wine rack nearby; Lars had gone into the city and bought a few bottles of liquor for some of their recipes.

Of course, Emma and Lars would have to keep those sorts of recipes away from children.

Emma hummed as she took out a heavy saucepan, a cookie sheet and some wax paper from various drawers as well. She also took out some vanilla extract and unsweetened cocoa powder.

She smiled as she could hear the bamming of a hammer and started chopping the chocolate in a swift yet clean manner, her posture straight. She then added a quarter cup of the unsalted butter into the heavy saucepan as well as two hundred and fifty grams of the chocolate. She was careful to place the saucepan on very low heat so the two ingredients would melt to a smooth rendition.

Once both ingredients became smooth, she removed the saucepan from the low heat and, using the wooden spoon, mixed the ingredients in the saucepan until they thickened.

She then added vanilla and sugar to the mixture and began gently mixing again. Not long after, a few drops of brandy were also added into the mixture.

It was at this point that Matthias was trying to drag the door onto the counter – he realized that part of the reason as to why the door hung on its hinge was because it was somehow too large for its opening to take and the screws for the hinges themselves weren't only in inconsistent sizes, but rusted away with age.

'_Who the hell even built this place?'_ the Dane wondered to himself as he finally lugged it on after putting the bell and bag out of harm's way. _'They really did a crappy job...' _He then fished his saw out from his toolbox and grabbed a pair of safety goggles, strapping them onto his face. He positioned himself to the door, his saw at the ready, but stopped when his gaze fell onto the bell.

"Wait…would Emma get mad if I sawed in here?" he wondered aloud to himself. He didn't want the Belgian woman to be upset with him; the thought horrified him. So with a shake of his head, Matthias dropped his saw and began heading out to the compartment.

No sooner had he approached the compartment when a delightful smell reached his nose. He stopped in his tracks and dreamily swayed around. _'Lort…what is that smell?'_ he thought. _'So delicious…'_

He continued walking in such a dazed stupor that he ended up bumping his head onto the door. He swore loudly, rudely crashing back to the present.

Emma was startled upon hearing loud swearing in a language she didn't understand, and peered through the window past the frilly curtains. She could see Matthias clutching at his head. She called, "Door's open!"

Matthias swung the door open as he continued rubbing at his head, "_Lort_…"

"Matthias, are you alright?" Emma asked, concerned at seeing the red bump on his forehead. "What's wrong?"

The Dane quickly stood up straight so as not to worry the Belgian woman and make himself look weak. He gave a good-natured laugh as his head throbbed, "Nah, I'm fine! My head's taken _way _worse!" sadly, that was the truth when Berwald (literally) threw him out of the house before.

Emma looked slightly unsure, but shrugged, "Well, if you say so…"

"Actually," Matthias continued. "I came here to ask if it's okay to saw your door."

"Saw my door?"

"Yeah, as I saw it from yesterday; the door's actually horribly proportioned – the height's all wrong and the width's too wide. You don't mind if I saw it in your shop, do you?"

"In the shop?" Emma felt fine with that herself, but if Lars were to see sawdust all over the store, there was no doubt that he would flip and go into a rampage.

He was always such a neat freak.

"I'll clean it up after I fix the door," Matthias offered. He was surprised that his mouth was talking by itself, "I can clean it all up once I've fixed the door. How about it?"

Emma was a little surprised at his offer as well. She smiled at his kind gesture, "You don't have to, really, but that's very kind of you. I don't personally mind you sawing the door in the shop, but my brother's another story…"

"What time's your brother coming home?" Matthias asked, believing he could pull off the stunt without the Dutchman's knowledge.

"He's been working a bit in the city. He'll quit his job once the patisserie is ready for business. However, he comes home at about nine to ten, so I'm sure you can fix the door no problem during then."

Matthias gave a cheeky grin, "You bet! I can finish that baby in no time!" he glanced at the clock and noticed that right now it was ten. "Better start right away," he said as he started on his way, however he stopped and poked his head through the door again. "Oh! Another thing!"

Emma glanced at him curiously, "What is it?"

"Whatever you're cooking; it smells great!" and with that, his head ducked away.

Emma couldn't stop the sudden heat that settled upon her cheeks as she finally took the mixture out from the fridge. Matthias' entrance had made the five minutes she was supposed to keep the mixture in the fridge zoom on by.

She then placed wax paper on the cookie sheet and spread the cocoa powder into separate dishes. Next, she shaped the chocolate mixture into little balls; her hands handling them with great care and calculated firmness. She was able to create quite a number of balls from the mixture and began coating half of each of in cocoa. However, she quickly ran to get some shaved coconut and began coating some of the balls with the white, snow-like substance as well. Once she was done, she placed the balls onto the cookie sheet, careful to keep them slightly separate from each other.

Matthias was back in the shop and he was sawing away at the door after placing marks to indicate where he aimed at. He blinked unflinchingly behind his goggles as he began sawing away.

It was about an hour or two that passed by, but Matthias was soon finished with sawing the edges to perfect proportions and was even able to sand the edges, smoothing them out. He rested his goggles down his neck as he wiped away the sweat that dripped down the sides of his head. Feeling thirsty, he reached for his canteen. Unscrewing the cap, he raised the canteen over his head while his mouth hung open underneath it.

Only a single drop reached his tongue.

Matthias peered into the canteen and sighed. He then went through the opening to request if he could use Emma's tap to get some more water. He also wanted to know if the smell was still there. The Danish man knocked on the door to the compartment and waited a little.

"You don't have to knock!" he could hear Emma give a tinkling laugh. "Just call my name and come in!"

"Oh…" Matthias scratched his head and shrugged, entering. "Well, it's just me. Hey, Emma…"

"Are you done already?" the Belgian woman asked, quite surprised. "You work really fast!"

"Almost," Matthias grinned as he came closer to the kitchen counter. "Just need to hammer the thing up. Plus, I gotta clean up the floor before your bro comes home, remember?"

"Oh, yes," Emma smiled. "I'm still amazed that it took you two hours to finish sawing _and _sanding the door."

Matthias flashed her a cheeky grin as he sat on one of the high stools, "Heh thanks. I'm really good with my hands."

"I can certainly see that," said Emma as her eyes suddenly wandered onto Matthias' arms – they were rippling with muscle, but not so much that it was repulsive. No veins bulged and his pale skin looked to be soft and smooth. They also contrasted very well against the black shirt he was wearing.

She became aware that she was staring for a bit after Matthias spoke. She saw his lips move and for that, she quickly gave a small shake of her head and apologized, "I'm sorry, can you please repeat that?"

Matthias chuckled, "I was asking; what were you cooking earlier? It smelled _really _good."

"Oh, what was I cooking?" Emma echoed, close to slapping her forehead. She rubbed her temple instead and plastered a smile on her face in hopes of covering up from her staring at him. "I was cooking truffles," she answered.

"Truffles?" Matthias leaned forward, interested. "I've actually never tasted them before."

Emma stopped in her spot before she opened the fridge. She stared at the Danish man with incredulous amusement, "Seriously? You've never had truffles before?"

"Nah, I haven't," responded Matthias with a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head. However, from the look that was on Emma's beautiful face, he began to feel more self-conscious and embarrassed about his statement – why did he seriously tell a _patissieur_ of all things that he never tried what seemed to be commonplace for them to cook?

Smooth there, Matthias Densen.

"How about rum balls?" Emma inquired, her front fully facing him. "Brioche? Macaron? Snickerdoodle?"

The Dane shook his head, now confused with the words that spouted out from the Belgian woman's mouth. Those things she said were desserts, right? He felt his face go aflame at the surprised look on Emma's face.

She must think he was a complete idiot.

"Wow…" Emma breathed, but suddenly gave a slight chuckle, breaking Matthias' once tense thoughts. "You really should try them out! They're absolutely _delicious_ – I'm sure you'll love them. One day, I'm gonna make you some of each kind, and you will try them. How about it?" the gorgeous smile now reappeared on the Belgian woman's face.

"I _do _have a sweet tooth in me," Matthias spoke up, feeling himself inwardly sigh in relief that she didn't seem offended or disgusted with his lack of knowledge about foods in her occupation. "I've eaten pie. I can bake pie, too."

"Really?" Emma arched an eyebrow, genuinely interested by this bout of information. "You can bake?"

"I haven't tried any of the stuff you've said," Matthias admitted, trying to steady his voice and flash the smile on his face again. The task was proving more difficult than it looked though with her looking so stunning after she didn't seem to mind his blundering mouth, "But the only desserts I know of are stuff from my home country and the parts around it."

"Really?" Emma listened closely as she opened the fridge. She bent down to receive her truffles. "Where is your home country?"

For some odd reason, his eyes traveled down to Emma's figure. He quickly darted them back up before she could notice that he was staring and, the Dane felt his face flush even more.

"Matthias?"

'_Lort…'_ Matthias slapped his forehead, feeling rather guilty; he _had _to look down there, did he? He wasn't a creep or a pervert! He felt like crawling back into the shop after seeing the dazzling smile on Emma's face as well as the innocent spark in her eyes; she didn't know where his eyes even travelled to. "S-sorry, I was kinda spacing out for a bit," the Dane said sheepishly. "Can you say it again, please?"

Emma gave a laugh and shook her head at the expression etched onto his face – she had to admit, it was quite cute. She repeated her question, "Where is your home country?"

"Oh!" Matthias perked up at once, excited that someone was asking about his origins. "My home is Denmark!"

"Denmark," Emma then nodded; she felt glad he told her – she honestly couldn't tell what nationality he was even with his thick accent. Then again, it was the first time she had ever met a Dane before. "I've never been there before."

"You should go there sometime," insisted Matthias, a grin now reappearing onto his face. "It's an awesome place to be at! Seriously, you should go travel there someday!"

Emma was glad that he was smiling again – he looked somewhat uncomfortable before for some odd reason. When he smiled, she had to admit; he was very dashing with those pearly whites, coupled with those shining baby blues. "Maybe later in future, big brother and I will go to Denmark," she said, causing Matthias' blue eyes to twinkle. "But first…" she then took one of the truffles from the dishes and bit into it, satisfied with the taste that flowed in her mouth.

Matthias stared at the balls curiously, "What are those?" he asked, seriously not knowing.

Emma smiled, "_Those _are truffles."

"Oh…" Matthias picked one up between his fingers and peered closely at it. The cool yet soft surface slightly squishy, "So that's what truffles look like…"

"Try one!" urged Emma. "I guarantee you'll like them."

"Really?" the Danish man was slightly shocked at her offering. "It's really okay for me to have one? They're not for your store or for your brother?"

Emma shook her head as she laughed, "There's more than enough for Lars and I – help yourself! You can even take these home, if you like – I'm thinking of making some more later, anyway."

Matthias didn't know what to say at this point but he felt like he was floating on air at that moment – here was the most beautiful and kindest woman he had ever met. Not only did he _not _call him an idiot for his blunt lack of knowledge on what truffles are, but even offered him some right now! She was offering him to take some for his family back home, too!

'_Lort…she's so sweet…' _Matthias thought to himself as he popped the truffle into his mouth. Immediately, he could taste the sweetness of the chocolate melt onto his tongue and tingle pleasantly. He can then also taste the slightly chewy texture of the sprinkled coconut that was on the confection's surface.

All of a sudden, there was a sudden pang in his mouth and he could taste a different, yet familiar flavor jump out and seize his tongue. His eyes widened upon realization on what the new flavor was.

"Is there alcohol in this?"

Emma froze; she _knew _she shouldn't have added the brandy – he must not like his sweets with alcohol in it. She rubbed the back of her neck as she asked worriedly, "Oh, I'm really sorry if you don't like alcohol…"

"Are you kidding me?" Matthias cut her off as he eagerly took another and popped it into his mouth. "This is awesome! I haven't had desserts with alcohol in them before! They're a great mix!"

Emma felt her shoulders relax as she couldn't help but laugh at how childish the Dane looked, eating a few truffles.

Eventually, Matthias ate four more and decided to return to work, remembering that there was a lady and this place wasn't his, either. The Danish man knew he had a hard liver, but he didn't want to appear drunk in front of Emma – he'd probably scare her off. Matthias had inherited his father's love for alcohol and the hard liver; it actually took him quite a lot to get him drunk, however whenever he _did _become drunk, things always became a problem…

He was hammering the screws properly into the bottom of the door's hinge to add an extra sense of security. His tongue was slightly poking out from his mouth as he carefully tapped the screws here and there.

It was during this time that Emma came to check on him. She came to the shop, but saw that there was a door blocking her way and some light hammering.

Not long after, she heard a grunt in relief. The hammering also ceased. She was about to go forward and maybe try the door out, but as her hands brushed onto the knob, the door suddenly swung open and she stumbled over as the door dragged her with it. She gave a loud squeak as she fell forward.

Matthias had wiped the sweat away from his forehead and placed his hammer down on the counter close to the bell as he leaned back and admired his work. The door was being a nasty pain on his butt; however he was able to pull through in the end. The floor also proved to be somewhat of a challenge in itself as he also finished sweeping away the soiled dust.

He smirked; one challenge down as well as a mini one, now he had four more to go…

He came forward and gripped the doorknob to see if the thing would open properly now. If the door didn't, the Dane man knew he'd swear and go into a slight rant with it…

Casually turning the knob, he pulled it outward and swung it open, but a surprised squeak met his ears. He gave a surprised grunt when he suddenly caught a light weight with one arm. He stumbled back a bit not expecting something to fall on him.

His breath hitched into his throat as he stared down at Emma. His mouth was slightly open, shocked from how he ended up with her in arms. Wait, she was in his arms…

Emma herself knew that she was blushing at this moment – her face was on fire. She glanced up after catching her footing, her hands ended up supporting onto a soft black shirt that covered a rather hard and firm chest. She froze as she looked up and was met by Matthias' surprised eyes.

The pair knew not how long they were in that position for, but what they _did _know was that they were stuck. Stuck gazing right into the other's eyes, admiring the brilliant shades and hues that lined those stunning irises, as well as adore the flames that shone from within their eyes.

Emma was lost within the Dane's eyes – she loved the tint of blue they were; they reminded her of the clear skies back in her home in Brussels. Sure the sky was blue here, but it was more of a harsh tone and it quivered from the heat and humidity. This shade of blue she was gazing at was vivid, yet so soft…

Matthias' eyes took in the great detail of all of the Belgian's face – not just her eyes. First, he had looked at them and his heart skipped a beat when he saw her forest green orbs glow from behind naturally long lashes (Matthias never liked women who used artificial lashes or mascara, it creeped him out).

Next, his eyes travelled around the Belgian woman's face. He marveled at how smooth looking her skin was and how there were no traces of any blemish at all – it appeared like finely crafted porcelain. Her nose was small, and slightly curved, which he thought was quite adorable.

Then, he came to her lips.

They were pink and full.

The Dane couldn't help but stare at them and he swallowed the lump that lodged into his throat, his eyes widening slightly. Matthias suddenly had a strange urge to know what those lips felt like against his own, but he immediately squashed that notion down. Something told him that it wouldn't be a good idea to kiss the woman right there and now – they only knew each other for about two days, after all – it would be awkward to kiss your employer on the first day of work, too.

He also had a bad feeling that he would get a red hand embedded on his cheek on his journey home if he _did _commence with that idea.

Plus, he had a feeling that a Dutchman would go hunt for his blood.

So instead, Matthias shook his head to collect his thoughts together and straightened himself, pulling Emma up as well. "You okay?" he asked, concerned.

Emma blinked and found herself back in the shop with a worried Matthias towering over her. She cleared her throat as she quickly got out of his grip. "Y-yes! Sorry about that," she apologized, trying to keep her voice from going up an octave or two. "Really, I'm sorry; I can be such a klutz sometimes…"

"Don't be sorry!" the Dane waved a dismissive hand as he quickly plastered a smile on his face. "I get clumsy sometimes, too! But anyway – the door's all fixed now!"

Emma beamed as she tried the door out herself – it didn't creak and it didn't wobble from its spot either. Instead, it easily swung around. "You've done a great job with the door!" she said sincerely. "Really; it doesn't even creak or anything."

Matthias smiled and scratched the back of his head as he laughed, "It was no problem, really! That's nothing – I'll fix up the pipes tomorrow so you can use water in the shop."

"That would be wonderful," Emma leaned in and patted the Dane's shoulder. "It really would - bro and I wouldn't have to travel back and forth to the compartment and the shop. Oh! Wait, here..." she then handed him what appeared to be a red velvet box with a white ribbon tied in the form of a bow.

Matthias flushed slightly as he took the box carefully into his hands. "Oh? What's this?" he asked, trying to steady his voice.

"They're the truffles from earlier," answered Emma. She beamed at the dumbfounded look on the Dane's face, "I figured that you would want to go home and rest as soon as you finished with the door, so I decided to pack the truffles for you, since you seemed to like them when you tried them out. Here…"

The Danish man wasn't sure if his face could take the heat any longer. He swallowed as he said with a suddenly soft smile, "Thank you…really, thank you…"

"I'll see you tomorrow then!" Emma gave the Dane a wink, causing jolts of pleasure to run throughout his veins as she left to the compartment to prepare dinner for herself and her brother. "You're such a great help."

Matthias watched her leave yet again. His eyes glancing at the Belgian woman who seemed to float away in slow motion, then wandered back down to the velvet box. '_They're even the colours of my home flag…'_ he thought as a smile spread through his face again.

She was very sweet.

Carefully, he slung his bag over his shoulder and held his toolbox. At the same time, he held the box of truffles close to his chest, and right over his heart.

He really can't wait to come back and fix more things.

* * *

_And again, another chapter comes to a close. I don't think it's going to end in 6-7 chapters anymore...I'm starting to think it'll be about 9-11 now... *runs off to get started*_

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions guys? Have a nice day! :DDD_


	6. Settling Amounts

_Hey guys, HetaWriter/HetaReader here again. Sorry if I haven't updated, but things were really busy at home, in preparation for a trip I'm going on. My friend and I have been saving up and now we've got enough for the both of us to go on a bit of a vacation. So, I most likely won't make any updates from the end of this week until some time early in November._

_Anyway, a big thanks to **washing-machines **for the fave, follow and review, **September Samstar **for the follow, and **Nyui**, **K-Ojousama **and **Lilypad the Fourth** for the reviews!  
_

_**Nyui:** Nice metaphor about the cake considering Emma's a patissier. Haha, thank you very much, I'm glad you like this story! :D  
_

_**washing-machines:** Thank you for the compliment! I love writing things into detail; it's a knack I quite like about myself.  
_

_**K-Ojousama:** I'm flattered you chose my story to read from your list of fanfics, but if you're really that tired, then my story can wait - get some sleep! XD yeah, romance is still a genre I'm still trying to work upon, but yes, I was aiming for something more lighter. Oh, please tell me if you see any mistakes I've made in any chapters; sometimes my fingers tend to get clumsy when I try to type out descriptions. And no, you're making sense actually. XD_

_**Lilypad the Fourth:** Thank you, really for the kind words. I don't know why, but I've been getting a myriad of all sorts of ideas coming in recently and that could possibly attribute from my writer's block with HetaVoice. Aww, your friend sounds real sweet - her cupcakes sound awesome (yes, even possibly going past your awesomeness, Prussia). It's okay for you to say random things here, I don't mind. Funnily enough, I actually have a friend that's a lot like Denmark except his hair is spiked weirdly and he's not Danish. Other than that, he's a pretty upbeat and loud sort of a person who has a hard liver (he can easily beat anyone in a drinking game); loyal friend he is. XD  
_

_**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Hetalia.  
_

_Onward with the story, we go!_

* * *

The days soon flew by in that week when Matthias repaired Emma's shop. Every day that the Dane came to fix something, he worked one hundred and ten percent – giving all the strength in his muscular arms and as fast and long as his body would allow.

Of course, there were a few mishaps during his time at the soon-to-be patisserie.

For instance, the day after he fixed the door, Matthias began working on the plumbing, noticing it didn't pour out any water no matter how rotated the taps were. He checked under the sink and peered through the pipeline, eventually finding the source of the problem.

The tap pipe was clogged up.

Matthias had seen it from the back of the shop when he peered through a pipe and noticing that it was all clogged by a really sticky ball of mud. It was a challenge, but Matthias worked hard on the plumbing for a whole day, this time staying until it was night due to the mud ball refusing to give way for the Dane.

The Danish man had seethed and cursed slightly in his home language, but whenever Emma came out, the smile quickly returned to his face and he worked harder than before.

He was close to getting the pipe almost fully unclogged; just turning on the tap would force pressure onto the mud to finally spray out. Matthias had warned Emma not to turn on the tap at all until he came inside.

Unfortunately, Lars came home, exhausted from work.

He was told by Emma that Matthias would fix the sink and pipeline in the shop so they could have fresh water close by. By that time, Emma had gone quickly to the supermarket to buy some extra ingredients (she had shouted at Matthias through the window about where she was going, though).

Seeing neither hide nor hair of Matthias or his sister in the shop, Lars decided to splash some water onto his face, feeling quite hot himself and assuming since nobody was responding to his calls or in plain sight, the tap must have been fixed already. Besides, it was already nine at night; the handyman would be home right now, right? He turned the tap on in full blast…

…and was met with a face load of muddy water.

Matthias was astounded at seeing the pipe suddenly unclog itself with the remnants of the mud gone, and ran into the shop, dancing around and rejoicing at his success.

He was met by a steaming Dutchman whose face and front were completely drenched in mud.

Luckily Emma had come home in time before her brother could start strangling the obliviously happy Dane. After Lars had stormed off to the compartment to wash off in the shower, Emma herself rejoiced with the tap being fixed.

She had even grabbed Matthias by his hands and started dancing around with him in the shop. Laughing that wonderful laugh and absolutely brightening the place with her great cheer.

Matthias had flushed an unhealthy shade of red and for a moment, his legs became gelatin. He almost fell over, had it not been for Emma supporting him a bit in time for him to catch his footing. His blunder didn't faze the Belgian woman at all though, and soon the Dane found himself laughing with her.

Just before he went home, she gave him another box. Another red velvet one with a white ribbon tied for a bow. This time, this one held brioche in it.

Matthias wasn't sure why Emma was taking her time off to make sweets for him and his family, but he was very grateful. Whenever he accepted them though, he always found a stutter in his voice, which was a big shock since he was usually such an upbeat and assertive person compared to the others at home.

It was truffles on the first day for repairing the door, brioche on the second day for repairing the pipeline, on the next day it was macaroon for repainting the shop, and the day after he was rewarded with snickerdoodles for exterminating insects and spiders.

"Matthias, where do you even get these from?" Tino asked him on the third day he went to Emma's shop.

"Yeah!" Peter smiled, his cheeks slightly bulging from the vanilla macaroon he was eating. "They're so delicious!"

"Where I got them?" everyone (but Peter), became shocked when they saw that Matthias' pale face was now tinged a brilliant scarlet. "Ehehe…my employer's a patissieur and…I guess she's just telling me thank you by making these…" he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as his mind wandered onto Emma gracefully twirling around the room.

"Uncle Matthias, are you alright?" Peter questioned in worry as he tugged the Dane's arm multiple times but to no affect. "Uncle Matthias!" he turned to Lukas. "Is he okay?"

"Maybe he's hungry," Lukas suggested tonelessly. He was greatly amused at seeing Peter shove a macaroon right into Matthias' slightly open mouth; the Norwegian man knew that the Dane wasn't hungry.

Everyone at home had wondered what was becoming of Matthias as he seemed to be rather…_distracted_ nowadays. Little Peter fretted that his uncle was maybe sick, but was reassured many times that the Dane was just fine. "There's nothing to worry about," Tino said soothingly. "Matthias is just fine."

"Then why's he acting like that?" Peter pointed at the Dane who was now playing with the white ribbon on the red velvet box and giving a rather giddy chuckle.

Tino sighed as he patted Peter's head, "You'll understand once you're older, dear…"

Lukas knew that it wasn't any of his business to go and see the cause of Matthias' sudden change of character, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel the curiosity bubble from within him. The Norwegian man knew the Dane for so many years, and he could read him easily like an open book – Matthias was outgoing, vigourous and brimming with energy, optimism and self-confidence.

Right now, he was acting all…dreamy, dazed and rather…_meek_ almost.

Sure Matthias responded with enthusiastic cheer; however that was only if a question was directed towards him. Otherwise, if nobody spoke to him, the Dane would resume that faraway look as well as the soft, content smile, and he would look at something that was probably only in his line of view.

This probably explained why Lukas decided to follow Matthias on the fifth day of the Dane's work. The Norwegian man had asked Arthur to fill in his shift for him for a little while and quietly tailed his Danish friend to a finely painted white building.

Lukas tilted his head and quietly peered through the window and saw Matthias ring a bell on the counter.

Next, a woman came in; smoothing her somewhat smudged apron as she happily greeted the Dane. In response, Matthias greeted the woman in an upbeat cheer.

Lukas rubbed his chin as he watched the pair interact for a little while longer, intrigued at seeing the reactions the Dane was having.

Whenever the woman laughed, the Dane would stare at her for a little with that soft, dreamy expression on his face. A few times, Matthias' face became bright red, especially when the woman had patted his arm.

Lukas examined the woman up and down and scratched his head. Sure, she was very beautiful in his opinion; however she seemed far too cheerful and bubbly for his liking.

'_A lot like that idiot…'_ he thought in amusement.

"Who the hell are you?"

Lukas froze when he felt a huge hand rest on his shoulder. He looked up with his eyes darting to the side as he quickly spun around and was face-to-face with a rather peeved looking man who had spiky dirty blonde hair, piercing green eyes and wearing a scarf with blue and white stripes.

"I…I…" Lukas was shocked to find that no words escaped from his mouth. Gazing more closely at the man who caught him, the Norwegian man reasoned that it was this man's gaze that put him off and caused him to stutter like a fool.

"Oh! Norge!"

Lukas had never been so glad to hear the Dane call his name.

"This one's with you?" Lars questioned in annoyance. "Is he helping you with something?"

"You came here to fix the roof with me, Norge, didn't you?" Matthias grinned before Lukas could say a word. "That's awesome! How about it? Me and my buddy are gonna fix the roof of a patisserie together!" he grabbed the Norwegian man into a bone-crushing hug.

Lars arched an eyebrow at the pair and shrugged as he finally left to work, grumbling about possibly buying a dog that would hopefully guard the shop.

Emma blinked in surprise at first when she saw her brother drag a man with a floating curl into the shop, but became relieved when Matthias seemed to know him.

"Norge! You gotta meet Emma! Emma, this is my best friend, Norge!"

"It's Lukas," said the Norwegian man politely as he shook hands with Emma. "Lukas Thomassen."

"It's nice to meet you, Lukas," replied Emma as she gave a respectful nod.

And so that's how Lukas ended up fixing the roof with a Dane who went through strange personality changes. First, Matthias would be his normal, happy self; however a few moments after, he became silent and very shy, much to Lukas' astonishment.

Seeing Matthias gaze through the hole they were trying to repair and onto the Belgian woman, who was actually cooking at the moment now that the interior of the shop was pretty much fixed, Lukas became quite suspicious. The Dane gave another uncharacteristically soft smile as he watched Emma do her work.

The Norwegian man remained silent the whole time and didn't speak of it either when they both went home.

Emma had finally been able to open the store when Matthias was working on the final thing that needed to be repaired – the window.

The Belgian woman was excited upon finally opening the store to the public and eagerly waited behind the counter while Lars had gone into the city to finally quit his job. During this time, Matthias was spraying what looked to be detergent and began scrubbing the windows with a wide cleaner.

However, the minutes turned to hours and Emma soon grew bored and rather disheartened – she didn't have a customer yet. She gave a sad sigh as she gazed at the produce that lay eagerly waiting on the shelves.

Matthias didn't like the look on the Belgian woman's face and after giving a thorough wipe onto the first window's smooth surface, entered the store for a small break. "Hey, what's with the sad face?" he inquired, coming up to the counter.

"Oh, it's nothing," Emma responded, trying to make her voice light, but her face told a different story.

"Nothing, huh? I don't believe you there," the Dane said with a shake of his head. He leaned forward and pressed on, "Now tell me; what's wrong?"

Emma heaved a sigh, "It's nothing that big of a deal – just no customers that's all…"

"Well, you've only just opened," reasoned Matthias. "And it's the first day of the shop after all; I'm sure loads of people will come later or tomorrow." He reached over and patted the Belgian woman's shoulder, "Keep your chin up!"

Emma gazed up; her green eyes locked onto Matthias' blue ones. It took a while for the Danish man to realize that he had actually reached over and touched her, and for that, his mind grew blank for a moment. But when his mind came back, he slightly reddened after feeling the cool air touch the spot on his arm where Emma had laid a hand on.

The Belgian woman herself couldn't believe she made a bold move as to touch him, slightly flustered and hoping that she hadn't made things awkward with the Dane. But honestly, she couldn't help it.

He always made her feel brighter and even happier.

By the time Matthias had finished cleaning the window, nobody had come into the shop yet. Emma was reasonably sad, but she seemed much better when the Danish man came inside and provided her with some company. For the past week, while Emma had begun preparing produce for the shop, she was able to converse with Matthias, even a few times when he fixed the roof with an unwilling Lukas, she would call out to him and ask for his opinion on something or on little tidbits of information about himself.

She learnt that he was twenty-five years old, his hometown was Copenhagen and he was an only child, however he said that he had always wanted a brother. He had left home when he graduated and travelled around northern Europe. When she asked why, Matthias responded after a moment of thought, "Not sure, really – I guess I just felt…like I wanted to know what was out there. What would the world throw at me?"

Of course, Matthias was also able to learn more about the Belgian woman, too. He finally found out that she was Belgian and had originally come from Brussels, but moved to here when she was only fourteen. From obvious notion, Lars was her older brother, but took more interest in the Dutch side of their family. She was also currently twenty-four years old.

'_Only a year younger,'_ Matthias thought to himself as he smiled softl at the silk, white ribbon in between his fingers.

"Matthias!" Tino tapped the Dane after he came home from finally cleaning the first shop window. "Matthias!" he called even louder.

"…huh?" Matthias gave a slight start and peered at the Finnish man. "What?"

"I have to go with Berwald tomorrow to speak to the landlord about the house," explained Tino, though inwardly he was still groaning over the fact that he was called a wife. "So I cannot pick Peter up from school tomorrow. Lukas' shift is during the same time as Peter's lunch break and you and I both know how long his work shift is."

"Oh, yeah," noted Matthias. "Norge works for about six hours. Still don't know how he does it – working at a library and all. What about Emil? Can't he pick him up? Last time I checked, his high school's right next to Pete's primary school."

Tino's face suddenly faltered slightly, looking rather sad. He said softly, "I tried talking to Emil, but he wouldn't respond – he didn't open the door when I knocked and he didn't say anything back, either. He just…ignored me…"

"Ignored you?" Matthias sat up from his spot on the old, stuffy couch. He scratched his head, "What do you think's _wrong _with him?"

"I'm not really sure," said Tino sadly. "But if we try to do anything, you know how he reacts…so, that just leaves you to pick Peter up. Could you do it, Matthias?"

The Danish man rubbed his chin and nodded, "Sure – I'd be happy to pick up Pete. I don't think it'll take long for me to clean the other windows, either. Yeah, I'll pick him up!"

And so it was the next day, Emma noticed that Matthias was working faster and harder than before as he scrubbed and cleaned the windows until they were practically see-through as the sun's rays glinted on their smooth surfaces. She couldn't help but smile at how focused he was during his work – she loved a man who was hard-working and gave one hundred percent in his endeavors.

By the time he was finished, Matthias was stretching his arm and flexed it a couple of times due to it feeling sore. Emma felt herself redden in the face as she saw his biceps bulge slightly and how smooth the pale skin was. She hurriedly smoother her apron and remarked with a smile, "You're working really hard! Do you really want to finish that quickly?"

Matthias shook his head, "Nah, it's not that – I just gotta pick up Pete from his school. Everyone else is really busy with their own thing, and I'm the only one who could pick him up today."

"Oh," Emma felt surprisingly relieved; for a moment, she thought the Dane was working faster to finish cleaning the windows so he can finally leave. "I see – what time does school finish for Peter?"

Matthias squinted at the clock on the wall near the door to the compartment; the clock read two o'clock. "Pete ends at about three," he said.

Emma nodded as she peered at the clock as well. "I see, well…how about we go now? A walk is a nice way to pass the time."

"Wait, what?" Matthias stared at her incredulously. "You want…you want to _come _with me and pick up Peter?"

Emma bowed her head, looking slightly crestfallen, "I do, but it sounds like you don't want me to come along…"

"What? No!" Matthias shouted quickly, flapping his arms about. "No, that's not what I meant! I mean, I'd _love _you to come with me and pick up Pete, it's just that I thought you'd want to stay here in your shop, and-!" much to his shock though, Emma began giggling.

"Matthias, I was only joking," she said, though inwardly she knew that wasn't the case. "Of course I wouldn't mind coming with you to pick up Peter. Nobody's come into the shop yet, and I'm pretty sure it won't hurt to leave the store closed for an hour or two. Plus, I'm sure us walking there will waste time so by the time we get there, we can pick him up."

"Yeah…okay," Matthias responded weakly, his face now burning. It was plain to see that he was embarrassed, and when he and Emma left the shop, the Dane shut his mouth, nervous that what he would say next might cause either a misunderstanding or an accidental slip of how he was feeling.

During their walk, Emma noticed that the Danish man was quiet. She began attempting to open him up by conversing on various subjects, trying to chat up a storm so he could join in like how he usually did. She knew that Matthias was an avid talker, and it was nice to have conversations with him – they were quite pleasant.

It didn't really take long for her to break Matthias though.

Soon, the Dane began chatting with great cheer as the pair walked – Matthias in laidback strides with his hands in the pockets of his trousers, and Emma with a straight posture and great poise – towards Peter's school.

Once they reached the primary school, the pair resumed with their conversation, going much deeper into it as they waited for the bell to ring. However, even when the bell gave a loud, ear-shattering ring, the Danish man and the Belgian woman were still immersed in their conversation, and it took for Emma to finally see from over Matthias' shoulder that classes of little children were walking in lines of two, following a teacher at the front.

"Oh! They're coming out already?" Matthias asked in surprise. He grinned at Emma, "We'll resume our talk on pies later…"

"Uncle Matthias!" Peter had called from one of the many classes. He was standing right next to a brown-eyed girl with brown hair that was tied into a short and curly side ponytail with a flower scrunchie. Peter nudged the girl and pointed at the Dane, "That's my uncle Matthias!"

The girl peered at the Danish man and gazed him up and down. Seeing him wave, the girl scowled slightly and looked away.

"Aww," Emma giggled. "It looks like she might like you!"

"Like me?" echoed Matthias, giving Emma and incredulous look. "I don't think that's the case!"

"But she's looking at you right now," teased Emma. "I think that's really adorable."

"Class," Peter's teacher spoke up at the front. From what Matthias could see, the teacher was an Asian woman with long, dark brown hair tied back into a long ponytail. "You may go now – be safe and have a lovely evening."

Peter at once ran up to Matthias and wrapped his arms around the Dane's waist, giving him a big hug as he laughed. Matthias also let out a loud, booming chuckle as he took the boy's sailor hat for a moment and ruffled his hair. Emma couldn't help but smile at the warm sight in front of her and came forward eagerly when Matthias spoke up, "Hey Pete! You remember Emma, right?"

"Of course!" Peter straightened his posture as he offered his hand to the woman. "Charmed to meet you again, ma'am!"

Emma giggled, "My, my; now aren't you the little gentleman?"

"Who taught you all the gentleman stuff, anyway?" questioned Matthias as he leaned down with his hands on his hips and a smirk on his face. "Did Norge teach you this? I certainly don't remember teaching you that!"

"Uncle Lukas said that being a gentleman is a good way for a lady to like you," responded Peter with a smile.

"Oh really?" Matthias straightened himself as his smirk grew wider. "And what would Uncle Norge know, anyway? Has he got a girlfriend?"

Peter stopped and rubbed his chin, "No…you do have a good point…"

"Besides," laughed Matthias. "You're too young to have a girlfriend now, Pete! You're only eleven years old!"

Peter giggled when Matthias took hold of his small body with one arm and began tickling his stomach with the other. He guffawed as he cried, "Hahaha! Uncle…Matthias! Stop…that! Heehee! Oh!"

"Take note of this, Pete!" grinned Matthias. "A lady loves to laugh, too! They love a good sense of humour!"

"That they do," agreed Emma as she laughed at the pair. "It's good to have a laugh now and then, too. It's nice to have someone cheerful, as well." And this statement, she couldn't help but fix her gaze onto Matthias, "Well, at least…_I _would like a man who is like that. Cheerful, kind and able to make me laugh…"

Matthias stopped for a moment as he gazed right at Emma. He stopped laughing as he continued staring at her, taken in by how peaceful she looked, as well as the slight hue of red in her cheeks. He breathed, _'Could…could she be talking about me?'_

He was about to say something in response, when a voice suddenly shouted:

"Emma! Is that you?"

* * *

_Crap cliffhanger is crap. I feel kinda cruel I left you guys with a cliffhanger, but don't worry - I'll put up the next chapter tomorrow some time. For now, who do you think called Emma?_

_Thoughts and opinions? Have a nice day. :DDD_


	7. Mix Things Together

_Hello guys, HetaWriter/HetaReader here. Back with another chapter of Truffles and a Hammer. Big thanks this time go to **DeviousDragons** for the fave and follow! Also, a big thanks goes to **September Samstar**, **Benevolent Ice Queen **and **K-Ojousama **for the reviews!_

_**September Samstar:** Spain, huh? Read on and find out. :D ohhhh, if you're studying for a test, then please put my story on hold and go study - I'd feel like a total bastard if you ended up failing something D:. If it's not for a test... *shifty eyes, whispers* go right on ahead...  
_

_**Benevolent Ice Queen:** Ah, I'm glad that the moments between Matthias and Emma aren't sappy and are well-received by you - I was really worried because this is the first time I've written this sort of a story before. Hehe, Lars' character was very fun to write; he was actually also the easiest to write, too. Yes, I'm a total sucker for details. Vietnam FTW. Wy is awesome, too (too bad she's not shown too much, though...TT_TT). Haha, I tend to feel that way towards cliff-hangers, too. I become so on edge that I become irritated at the chapter ending like that, yet at the same time, it makes me have something to look forward to.  
_

_**K-Ojousama:** It's okay, find any of my mistakes in your own time; I really appreciate you actually looking for some, though. I apologize if I was being mean for ending in a cliffhanger! TT_TT you guess it's Spain? Read on to find out who it is.  
_

_I notice that everyone is interested with Emil and how he's doing. I've also put up another story that corresponds with this one and in the same universe as A Piece of Me (also like this one). I put up the first chapter right now - Smoke Catching Fire. This story focuses on Emil's perspective, as well as Sadik. You can look at it, if you like.  
_

_**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Hetalia.  
_

* * *

Emma turned her head around, and became highly alarmed when a sudden blur of brown and green almost knocked her off her feet. Luckily, the Belgian woman was able to maintain her balance.

Matthias had stepped forward with Peter in his arms just in case Emma fell over, but was relieved when he saw that she had caught her footing. The Dane looked closely and saw that the cause of Emma almost falling was a young woman.

A young woman about the same age as her.

This young woman had long brown hair that was somewhat wavy at the ends. She also had an orange flower in her hair, and was wearing a short-sleeved dress with a black bodice and an orange shirt. She was also wearing brown boots that reached her calves.

"It's been _so_ long!" the woman exclaimed, her eyes sparkled a vibrant green. "I haven't seen you for years! How are you, Emma? Remember me?"

Once the hype calmed down a bit, Emma was able to take a better look at who attacked her with the surprise hug and at once, her jaw dropped. "Lizzie, is that you? I can't believe this! It _has _been so long!" she immediately leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the other woman's neck.

"You guys know each other?" Matthias questioned as he let down Peter.

"She's a friend of yours, Ms. Héderváry?" inquired Peter, looking genuinely interested.

The brunette woman, Elizaveta, laughed, "Emma and I have been best friends in high school! I always wondered what happened to her – everyone wondered that actually! She just disappeared after graduation!"

"You knew that the culinary college I went off to was in the city," Emma said as she lightly pushed Elizaveta's shoulder. "I tried to keep contact, but I guess my studies got me in the end, I do apologize…"

"Why must you apologize? There's no need for that!" Elizaveta waved a hand dismissively. "What matters the most is that you're here and you look better than ever! Now, weren't you studying to be a patissieur?"

"I did," said Emma proudly. "And I was able to get my degree a year ago."

"Really? I'm so proud of you, that's really impressive," remarked Elizaveta. "So now that we'll catch up again, I'll expect to one day try your cakes in future, now will I?"

"But of course," laughed Emma. "My brother and I actually opened a shop recently."

"A shop already?" Elizaveta asked, fascinated. "My, my – you've been quite the busy woman now! I'm impressed you were able to get a shop already!" the brunette woman then stopped and finally laid her eyes onto Matthias. She whispered to the Belgian woman, "Oh…who is this, Emma?"

"This is Matthias," Emma said, pulling the Dane slightly closer. "He's a friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you," Matthias shook hands with the woman as he patted Peter's head. "I'm also Pete's uncle here."

"Ahh, yes; Peter speaks about you a lot, actually. Hmm…a friend, really Emma? That's all?" a slightly disappointed look than crossed Elizaveta's face. "For a moment there, I thought the both of you were together…"

"Wait, what?" Emma's whole face flushed a hot shade of scarlet while Matthias' jaw dropped at the notion as he gaped. "No, Lizzie, we're not together," stammered the Belgian woman.

Matthias couldn't help but feel something sharp cut through his heart as he heard those words blurt out of the Belgian woman's mouth. Elizaveta sighed, "I even thought you both might be married, for a second, too…"

"Okay, now that's going too far, Lizzie!" said Emma, trying to keep her voice from going shaky. "Matthias and I aren't even dating." The Belgian woman was shocked at feeling a pang of disappointment run through her as she said that.

Elizaveta leaned closer and gazed at Matthias' face. The Danish man leaned back only a bit, a little uneasy about the brunette woman's rather scrutinizing gaze on him. He maintained eye contact with her though, as she looked him up and down. Matthias began to wonder what the brunette woman was even thinking out and just _why _was she even looking at him like that.

After a while, Emma then piped up, "Lizzie, were you able to keep in contact with everybody?"

"Hmm?" Elizaveta snapped her head around, prompting Emma to repeat her question. The brunette woman gave a laugh, "I actually was able to keep in contact with some people! Some of them, for instance, work here."

"Really?" Emma looked excited. "Who works here? Where do you work?"

"I work with the kindergarteners," responded Elizaveta with a warm smile.

Emma nodded, "That's to be expected; you always were so wonderful with children."

"Anyway, you remember Katyusha, right?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Emma, remembering the Ukrainian woman who was two years older than her and had therefore graduated earlier. Despite graduating before her and Elizaveta, she kept contact with them. Emma remembered that the woman had a big heart made of gold, but she was very emotional, too. "Katyusha works here?"

"Not anymore," Elizaveta shook her head. "She's now working at the high school as the counselor."

"Really?" Emma was truly impressed - Katyusha seemed so fragile, actually. "That's _really _impressive."

"Oh, and remember that guy who kept coming around from that university near the beach? He kept picking fights with Heracles in Katyusha's grade? That jerk, Sadik?"

"The tall Turkish guy with the mask?" Emma asked, then scolded, "Lizzie, that's not really a nice thing to say – he's not a bad guy, actually. He's just misunderstood; Gupta said he actually lived a hard life at home."

"Gupta actually spoke to you?" questioned Elizaveta, her green eyes widened. "I've been trying to talk to that guy ever since that one time in high school when I was partnered with him for an art class and the only thing I could hear is mumbling!"

"I actually saw Gupta not too long ago," explained Emma with a light smile. "I went to the supermarket one day and I saw him carrying a pot. He's not wearing his _keffiyeh _anymore."

"Ohhh," Elizaveta leaned closer. "Seriously? What does he look like? He disappeared just like you! I've never seen him without that thing on his head!"

"What's a _keffiyeh_?" inquired Matthias, now wanting to be left out of the conversation anymore. He had trouble pronouncing the word, though.

Emma flashed him a smile, glad that he was able to join in the conversation; she was worried that he was bored for a moment, "A _keffiyeh _is a sort of headdress."

"We had a classmate back in high school named Gupta," explained Elizaveta, also beaming at the Danish man. "He always wore one on his head – I think only Sadik knew what he looked like without it."

"Wouldn't he get bald from that?" questioned Matthias as he ran a hand through his own pale blonde hair. "I mean, if he kept that thing on his head all the time?"

"I actually wondered about that," Emma agreed at the Danish man's notion. "And when I saw him at the supermarket, I actually didn't know it was him until he waved at me, said hi and even came over. He could tell I didn't know it was him, though," to this, Emma gave a good-natured laugh. "He smiled a bit and finally introduced himself after asking me to guess who he was. I felt _so _stupid when he told me in the end!"

"How different does he look anyway?" wondered Elizaveta. "I wonder if he and Sadik still talk. Anyway, how's your brother? Does he still play soccer?"

Before Emma could respond, Matthias quickly cut in, "Wait, your brother plays soccer?" seeing the Belgian woman nod, the Dane exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me? I play soccer, too!"

"Really now?" Emma was slightly surprised at that piece of information, but seeing how well-built the Dane was, it became a no-brainer. "Bro _used _to play soccer, but he doesn't do it much anymore. He just watches it on TV. I think it'd be wonderful if you could play soccer with him some time; seriously, I think it'll do him a lot of good."

"Lars was one of the best players in our school," added Elizaveta with a fond smile. "He filled in for our star striker, Antonio, and well…we were all scared at first, because Lars was a reserve for the whole school soccer tournament, but everyone was just…_wow_."

"That good, huh?" Matthias smirked. "I'd love to play with him sometime; I'm quite good at it myself."

"Can't wait to see your skills then," smiled Emma. From the Belgian woman's words, Matthias felt his stomach turn into knots as he hoped that he didn't eat his words yet. She then turned to Elizaveta, "Speaking of Antonio…how is he? How is Toni?"

Matthias didn't like how interest the tone of the Belgian woman was. His scowl came unnoticed when Elizaveta laughed, "He works here, too! He teaches one of the Year Two classes!"

"I expected as much," sighed Emma, a fond look crossing her face. "He loved kids; he's good with them, too. Is he here?"

"Over there!" Elizaveta pointed after she and the Belgian woman began looking around. "He's just there!" she then held Emma's hand, "Come on! Let's go over and say hello!"

Emma laughed, "Okay, then!" before she and Elizaveta went forward, the Belgian woman offered her hand to Matthias. "Come on, let's go! I'll introduce you to Toni!"

Matthias gazed down at the hand, his face uncharacteristically blank as the light scowl furrowed slightly. After a little while, he hesitantly took her hand and allowed himself to be pulled forward as he gripped tightly onto Peter's little hand.

"Oh, Toni!" sang Elizaveta. "Toni! Look who I have here! It's somebody you know!"

Matthias was able to catch sight of a head full of short slightly wavy, mocha-coloured hair that suddenly exclaimed the Belgian woman's name and dash forward. In one leap, Emma was engulfed into a tight, warm hug.

Emma smiled as she wrapped her arms around the man embracing her. Once they pulled apart, the Belgian woman greeted, "Toni, it's been so long; how are you?"

The man, Antonio, gave a light-hearted laugh, "_Ay Dios mio_, I know! It's been so long – we all thought you forgot about us by now. It's good to see you're doing alright! So, how are you, _mi amiga_?" he then leaned back slightly as he gazed at her up and down. He then gave a whistle, "You've certainly become more beautiful over the years."

Emma laughed; the Spaniard was always one to pay many compliments. "Why, thank you," looking at Antonio up and down, she chuckled. "You don't look so bad yourself, Toni. The years have been even kinder to you."

Looking closer at Antonio, and comparing him from what he looked like as a teenager, Emma could certainly see that he had changed a lot, too. He was slightly taller and his face was absolutely free and unmarked as if previous signs of blemish were never there at all. He stood straight and proud, body well-toned with broad shoulders and his skin a rich and exotic hue of tan.

He was definitely blooming in the prime years of adulthood.

Matthias felt something boil from within him as he could see the rather fascinated look cross Emma's face. He licked his lips as he lifted his chin slightly, eyes narrowing at the shorter man before him.

"_Hola_, Peter!" Antonio greeted, hands now on his knees as he leaned down to go eye level with the child. "How are you? You know Emma?"

"Doing jolly good, Mr. Carriedo!" responded Peter cheerfully as he gave a salute in the Spaniard's direction. "Of course I know, Miss Emma! She's uncle Matthias' friend!"

"Uncle Matthias?" Antonio asked with a tilt of his head, slightly confused.

"_I'm _uncle Matthias," said the Dane, not regretful at how biting and loud his tone suddenly became. He then protectively wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulder. Though the child eagerly held onto the Danish man's hand, it was plain to see that Matthias did not look happy at all. Much to the Dane's irritation, the brunette man was still smiling towards him.

'_Is this bastard mocking me?!' _Matthias wondered in outrage as Antonio then began chatting animatedly with Emma. The Dane didn't like how close they looked together and felt a roar resound from within him as Antonio suddenly wrapped an arm around the Belgian woman's shoulders.

He was about to retort or interrupt the pleasant looking conversation Emma and Antonio were having together, when he caught sight of the Belgian woman's face.

Her face was glowing, her eyes sparkling with eagerness as her lovely voice spoke in great cheer and enthusiasm. Her laugh resounded throughout Matthias' mind.

The Dane felt himself deflate and something his chest started throbbing painfully; as if his heart was trying desperately to beat itself out of his chest. He licked his lips as all sources of sound were now becoming fuzzy in his mind.

"Uncle Matthias?" Peter tugged on the Danish man's arm. "Are you alright there, uncle Matthias?"

"Come on, Peter," Matthias said in a strangely quiet voice as he lifted the boy up onto his shoulders. "Let's go home…" he awkwardly took a step forward and cleared his throat to gain Emma's attention. "Hey, Emma…Pete and I are gonna be heading home now," he said, forcing a smile onto his face so as not to worry her. "I'll come and clean the rest of the windows tomorrow; I'm really sorry, but I'm kinda tired…"

"Oh, really?" Emma asked, surprised at his words. She was worried at how quiet his tone of voice was, as well. "Are you sure you don't want to stay? I would like to introduce you to other old friends of mine…"

"_Si_, why don't you stay?" questioned Antonio, his forest green eyes feigning innocence. He actually sounded disappointed, "Any _amigo _of Emma's is an _amigo_ of mine!"

"I already said I'm tired!" snapped Matthias as he glared down at Antonio. He shook his head, "Sorry, but seriously, that's how tired I am…my head really hurts…"

"Oh no, uncle Matthias!" cried Peter as he began rubbing on the Dane's temples. "We should go home, then! Onward to home we go! Goodbye Miss Emma, goodbye Ms. Héderváry, goodbye Mr. Carriedo, goodbye Ms. Nguyen!"

"Be safe Peter," responded the woman who Antonio was talking to earlier. Matthias saw that it was the Asian woman with the long, dark hair in a ponytail; Peter's teacher.

"Yeah, hope you get better, too, Matthias," said Elizaveta, though she had a strange look on her face as her eyes trailed onto Matthias' tall figure. She rubbed her chin, face contorted in a thoughtful expression.

"Oh, okay, I'll see you tomorrow!" Emma said with a wave, though inside, she wondered what was wrong with the Dane. She felt really worried at seeing him in a suddenly blue mood. She hoped he wasn't horribly sick.

Maybe she should go and visit him later on. After all, on the day he fixed the roof, Matthias had told here where his address just in case she needed his services in the future.

"If you need help in anything else, just give a shout and I'll come," the Dane had said with that radiant smile spread out on his face. That smile that always seemed to make the place and more importantly, the day, much brighter.

And so maybe that was why, but Emma found herself walking over to his address with another a red velvet box tied with a white ribbon, this time with a clear, bell-shaped cover at the top as billows of steam blew on the treat inside.

She stopped at a porch with some hedges and saw a simple, two-storey house with a white exterior as well as a black roof. Her finger was only a few millimeters away from the doorbell's button, when she could hear loud screaming coming from inside. She froze in the spot when she heard the shouting go louder and louder in a language she had never heard before; it definitely didn't sound like Matthias, either – his voice was higher in pitch than one of the voices, but it was lower sounding than the other one.

The Belgian woman wasn't sure on whether to ring the bell or not, until she heard a familiar voice sigh, "_Lort_, I'm going outside; my head seriously _hurts_…no Tino, it's not as bad as it is, really!"

Suddenly, the door swung open and Emma was face-to-face with the blue-eyed Dane. She weakly beamed at him, "Hello Matthias."

Matthias froze when he saw who was in front of him. He rubbed his head and blinked a couple of times, shocked to see that she wasn't a figment of his imagination. He opened his mouth to say something, but was alarmed at no words exiting his mouth.

Hearing that the shouting didn't cease, Emma bit her lip, "Did I come at a wrong time?"

Matthias vigorously shook his head to try and collect himself; damn, this woman always made him tongue-tied. He gently shut the door just when he could hear Emil scream in a voice lined with fury:

"Just leave me alone and stay out of my business!"

"Emil! Get back here, this instant!"

Emma flinched when she could hear the sound of a door slam even when after Matthias shut the door.

"Sorry you had to hear that," Matthias said sheepishly. "Things have been getting _really _hectic lately…"

"What's wrong?" questioned Emma softly, knowing that she was treading into deeper waters.

Matthias sighed, "Just some family stuff…" before he could go any further, he noticed that the Belgian woman was holding yet _another _red velvet box that was tied with a white bow. Only this time, it had a clear cover that was somewhat rendered non-transparent from steam. "What's that?"

"Oh, it's just a little something I hoped would make you feel better," said Emma with a shy smile. She held it out to him, "I hope you like it."

Matthias carefully took it from the Belgian woman's hands and removed the cover. At once, a delicious aroma floated right up and into his nostrils. A calm, pleasing sensation overcame his being as the smell lingered in his mind. "A pie?" he asked with a smile. "It smells so good…you really shouldn't have-"

Emma shook her head, the shy smile now stretched into a more satisfied one, "It's apple, and you're wrong there; I _wanted _to."

"Ah, really?" Matthias couldn't help but sound eager as his spirits lifted up from those words. "You seriously wanted to?"

"You've been very kind and hard-working," responded Emma as she listed the adjectives down on her fingers. "You've also been wonderful company, and a really great friend."

"Friend, huh?" there was a hint of disappointment that laced Matthias' tone of voice. "Just like Antonio?" there was a bitter bite in the Dane's words.

Much to Matthias' surprise, Emma laughed, "I actually thought that you and Toni were alike at first – you're both so cheerful and optimistic, you both also like to make people smile, and you're great company."

"I see," Matthias licked his lips. He then gestured to the steps on the porch and sat down, with the box on his lap, "Hmm…were you and Antonio always so close?"

"We were in high school," responded Emma as she fixed her dress, smoothed her apron, and planted herself right next to the Dane. She had lightly brushed his arm as she came down, sending light sparks jolting through her veins. "He was a lot like my brother."

"Ever gone out with the guy?" questioned Matthias, trying to force a smile on his face, though he inwardly winced at how painful it was to muster.

Emma gave a soft chuckle as she fondly gazed up at the now darkening sky. "We did use to date before," was her answer.

"_Use to_?" echoed Matthias as he perked up. "What happened?"

"Well, we got together at a party actually," explained Emma. "You know, one of those wild, out-of-control parties that teenagers have the capability to throw. It was so sudden, and I'm pretty sure he was slightly tipsy at the time."

"Tipsy, huh?" Matthias knew he shouldn't be a harsh critic towards Antonio since he himself loved alcohol, but he couldn't help but bristle in anger at hearing that the Spaniard seemed to only have a fling with the Belgian woman. "Anything stem from that, really?"

"We kissed," Emma said as she continued gazing at the sky, her whole demeanor very calm. "I wasn't sure about him at first, but we decided to try it for a while. After six months passed, we broke up – we just didn't feel anything."

"Nothing?" Matthias leaned closer, his blue eyes sparkling. "Nothing at all?"

Emma laughed as she shook her head, "Nah, sure we kissed, but there simply was nothing there. No spark or anything. He _was _my first kiss, though."

"First kiss? Hmm…but there was no spark, huh?" Matthias rubbed his chin, sitting in a thinking position. "So there was no spark at all between you and Toni?"

"None at all," replied Emma. "We stayed friends, though – honestly, it felt better that way." She then turned to Matthias, who looked to be much better than before, "How about you? I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, right? I bet your first kiss was special."

"My first kiss?" the Dane scratched his head; this seemed like a rather feminine topic, but he was in a good mood now, so why not answer that? No matter how embarrassing the story was. He let out a booming laugh as he sat up and leaned back slightly, "My first kiss wasn't special. It was definitely something alright…"

"Really?" Emma asked, leaning closer. "How was it?"

Matthias chuckled, "It was pretty hectic, but one time when I was living in Stockholm with my family, we had a party for Tino, Pete's mama, at a pub. I was in the middle with this weird-ass drinking game with some Chinese guy who kept ending his sentences with _'aru'_ and boy, was that guy a tough drinker!" seeing Emma giggle, Matthias laughed, "Man, that guy looked girly and he loved pandas and stuff, but he was actually manlier than I thought! He was able to cause a dent in one of the walls when they refused to serve him a certain dish – something about having a certain palate of tastes."

"Who won, anyway?" questioned Emma, and then lightly teased, "Was your first kiss with that man? I didn't know you swung that way, Matthias."

"I don't swing that way," responded Matthias, though he couldn't help but chortle at the crazy memory. "And obviously, yours truly won that drinking match!" he proudly beat at his chest. "The poor panda boy collapsed right after eleven shots or so. Then when everyone announced that it was time for Tino to blow out the candles of his cake, well, he was about to cut it and everyone was congratulating him. I was already drunk by the time I went up to him. You can guess what happened next…"

"_No_…really?" Emma asked, a big smile spreading across her face. Seeing Matthias nod, the Belgian woman burst into laughter, "Your first kiss was with the birthday boy? Really? Oh my…!"

Both were laughing out loud as Matthias nodded, "Yup, I kissed Tino. Everyone was shocked by it and man, Berwald was so pissed off! He not only smashed a bottle on my head, but he chucked me out of the house at one point. Of course, I couldn't remember properly until someone showed me a video and photos of it…"

"And who exactly took a video and photos of the whole thing?" questioned Emma with a mischievous smile as she quirked an eyebrow. "I would like to see those; and I'm sure Lizzie would squeal if she saw them, too."

"Hahaha, Norge actually took a video of it while Emil was taking photos," responded Matthias. "Tino was so embarrassed of it when I asked him." He rubbed his knuckles on his chest again, "My first, but perhaps I'm just that good of a kisser."

"That, or maybe it was horrible," teased Emma.

"I don't think so!"

Both laughed again and as they gazed at each other again, once more they found themselves wandering into each other's eyes.

Emma admired his eyes again, wondering how a man could have eyes with such a beautiful hint of baby blue. She could feel his breath not that far from her own lips and before she knew what she was doing, she felt her face lean forward as he eyes softly shut.

Matthias felt sweat pop from the sides of his head as he inwardly panicked when he saw that the Belgian woman's face was progressively leaning closer to his own. Her perfect, pink lips were also _just _sticking out a bit more, her gorgeous green eyes shut behind those naturally lovely lashes.

'_Oh, Lort…'_ the Danish man thought in panic. _'You can't just kiss her now! You've only known her for what? Like a week and a half? You're going too fast! You can't! It's…oh fuck that! You know her well enough, she knows you well enough, and she's making the move! Fuck rationality, I _want _to kiss her!'_

Pretty soon, Matthias leaned his own face forward, his eyes softly shut as he could feel her warm breath tickling his lips. The gap between the two adults almost closed.

Until the sound of a loud door banging open rudely interrupted them.

Both Matthias and Emma jumped at the harsh sound. Emma was heavily flustered at being so bold, but highly disappointed that they were both interrupted. She saw before her was a teenage boy with silver-white hair and violet eyes that sparked with anger.

The boy paid no attention to the two adults and instead leapt down from the porch as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his brown jacket as he began storming away.

"Emil!" Matthias shouted after the boy. "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere!" the Icelandic boy called back in a sharp, snappy tone.

"Emil!" Matthias heard Tino's voice cry out. "Emil, come back! Please!"

Hearing the sound of bounding footsteps, Emma saw the Norwegian man, Lukas, taking a step outside. He was gazing right after the silver-haired boy as he called out as well, "Emil! Emil!"

The Norwegian man's calls only made the boy break into a run as he dashed as fast as his legs could carry him from home. Lukas took another step forward in an attempt to go after his little brother, but was stopped by a large hand on his shoulder.

Emma could see Lukas gaze up to be met under the gaze of a very tall man wearing glasses. This man had a stern look on his face as he shook his head. Lukas sagged slightly, though his face remained impassive.

Berwald's gaze then settled onto the Dane and the woman with him. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he continued peering down at them. He then gave Matthias a look and, after pulling Lukas into the house, shut the door quietly.

Emma took this as a cue for her to leave. She stood up with her hands clasped in front, "I think I came at a very bad time…" she sounded very sheepish. "I think your family needs you now more than I do…" her words however caused a piercing pain to shoot from the bottom of her heart, though.

Matthias sighed, feeling extremely irritated at being interrupted from having a proper kiss with a woman who by now, he knew, had taken hold of his head and heart. However, he was extremely worried about Emil, and grateful that Emma was understanding. He flashed her a brave smile, "Yeah, thanks again. Well…see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yes," Emma replied with a nod, feeling cheerful again. "I'll see you tomorrow." Before she left however, she suddenly stood on her tip-toes, gently pulled Matthias down a bit, and planted a soft kiss to his cheek. Once she pulled apart and went on her way, she felt her face go alight as she tried, as calmly as she could, to walk away.

There was no denying the big smile that spread out across her face as she touched her lips.

Matthias himself was shocked at the unexpected peck and he felt his face go on fire all over again. The kiss had only lasted a second or two, but it still filled the Dane like a beer in keg. He raised a hand to his cheek as he felt the spot where she had planted her soft lips on. Before he knew it, he gave a dreamy sigh and a giddy chuckle as he waltzed lightly into the house. Tino, Berwald and Lukas perked up from their spots in the kitchen when they heard the door open, but despite it not being Emil, they became rather stunned at seeing the Dane in such an odd state.

Said Dane didn't give a damn about how his family stared at him, though.

* * *

_And there you go - another somewhat sappy ending. Meh, at least Matthias gets a kiss (albeit not on the area he had initially wanted). Next chapter should hopefully come on either tomorrow or the day after that, since I have a short time to make as much updates as I can for the stories that are still incomplete (except for HetaVoice, I think I'll put that on hiatus for now)._

_So, as always...thoughts and opinions, guys? Have a nice day! :DDD_


	8. Seek Assistance Before Placing in Oven

_Hey guys, HetaWriter/HetaReader her with another chapter. Now, as I mentioned before and in some of my other stories, I won't be able to update for a while because I'm going on a trip overseas._

_So, from the 8th October-9th November, I won't be having any updates or be active at all here. By the time I get back though, I'll be writing like crazy, so don't worry. That saying so, this story is about to draw to a close very soon - about 3 chapters left, me thinks._

_Anyway, big thanks goes to **sekushi na sakura subarashi **and **steampunk-crow **for the follows, and to **September Samstar** and **Springirth Dale** for the reviews!_

_**September Samstar:** Lucky that your test got postponed! Hahaha, what subject anyway? Yeah, I'm only a fan of romance stories if there's a plot actually embedded here - I was a little worried with this one, because I thought at first that there was no plot at all behind it. Glad to see I was wrong there. Thanks for reviewing!  
_

_**Spingirth Dale:** Hey! Long time, no see! I feel like a complete bastard for not coming up with a chapter for HetaVoice (which, unfortunately, I'm still having writer's block on for some weird reason! .). Whoa, those are so many awesome's 0.o (hopefully Prussia doesn't come by), thank you very much - that's a really big compliment! The stories that are intertwined with this one are A Piece of Me - which is more of a bit of a prequel since it only mentions Emma and is more of a SpainUK friendship; and Smoke Catching Fire (which is a story through Emil/Iceland's perspective as well as Sadik's). Thank you very much for reviewing!  
_

_**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Hetalia.  
_

_Shall we move on?_

* * *

Matthias worked hard scrubbing the remaining windows; however he was still understandably nervous.

Just yesterday, he and Emma almost kissed – on the lips, too. Though they were both interrupted, she _did_ plant one on his cheek, a bold move that was never conducted before in his previous times in the shop.

It got him thinking.

The Dane began to wonder if now was the time to say something – he was positive by now that these blossoming feelings that rose inside of him weren't just a simple crush. No, it felt far too intense and different to be a little lovey-dovey crush. It became to the point that the woman just couldn't leave his mind and separation actually made his gut twist in anticipation.

Of course, he was unsure of what to do in this situation – what if he confessed right there and then and she ended up not returning his feelings? What if she, in the end, decided that she didn't like him?

'_Lort…'_ he thought to himself as he stared at her through the window. She was right now talking to Elizaveta and a woman with short, platinum blonde hair and a rather…_well-endowed _bosom. _'That's the _worst _thing that could happen…'_

What he was unaware of was that Emma was going through a similar turmoil.

She couldn't help but sneak peeks at the Dane when he wasn't looking just as he worked hard, as always. Honestly, the Belgian woman wasn't so sure about what to do, either. Should she press forward and pursue a relationship with him? Or was it too fast and should she just wait a while longer? Those questions burned intensely, taking a toll onto one another.

"Emma, is something the matter?" Elizaveta asked in concern. "You're not quite yourself today."

Emma sighed as she took two éclair and gingerly placed them into a blue box and tied it with a golden ribbon. She handed it to the other woman with Elizaveta, "Honestly, I think I may need some advice…"

"Advice?" the woman, Katyusha, echoed. "Well, what is it, dear?"

"Well…" Emma smoothed her apron as she stole a quick glance at Matthias. Just for a brief second, their eyes connected, but just as quickly, the Dane's baby blues fixed back onto the window. Matthias gave a small smile, as Emma awkwardly plastered one as well. The Belgian woman could feel a pang of disappointment when he looked away.

"It's him, isn't it?" Elizaveta jerked her head in Matthias' direction. "Matthias, right?"

Emma flushed slightly, "Y-yes…how did you know I was going to-?"

"Emma, it's so obvious!" laughed Elizaveta. "I mean, you keep looking at him while he's not looking, you talked about him a lot, and your face…it's just an obvious thing to behold!"

The Belgian woman felt rather embarrassed, "Am…am I really _that _obvious?"

"You look like you have been bitten by the love bug!" smiled Katyusha.

Emma cleared her throat, "Well, I was wondering then – could you help me?"

"Explain the details," said Elizaveta, her face now serious. "What's the problem?"

"Well, it's just that…" Emma licked her lips. "For the past two weeks, he's been helping me by repairing the shop."

"So, he fixed everything here?" questioned Katyusha as she looked around in amazement. "How bad was this place?"

"It was in a really bad state," responded Emma. "Trust me, it was – the door to the back was on its hinge, we couldn't get water in here at all, and there was even a _hole _in the roof!"

"And he fixed all of that?" Katyusha was awed. "That is very impressive of him!"

"I know, isn't it?" Emma sighed. "And then…I'm not sure how it happened, but…I couldn't help but notice that he's an amazing guy."

"An amazing guy, huh?" Elizaveta leaned forward. "Care to tell us what's so amazing about him?"

"Well, he's really kind for one thing, he always looks at the bright side of things even if there's seemingly _no _bright side at all, he knows how to make a person laugh, he's so hard-working, and he's a great person to talk to as well! He listens to me," replied Emma, a fond smile on her face.

"You know, he sounds a lot like Antonio," remarked Katyusha. "The cheerful demeanour, the optimism, the being easy to talk to."

"No, he's nothing at all like Toni actually," said Emma with a smile; she had thought to herself that Matthias was a lot like the Spaniard at first, but after a much closer analysis of his character, he certainly wasn't. "You know how Antonio is always so laidback and relaxed? Even when it's like the last day to give in homework and he hasn't even started yet?" seeing her friends nod, Emma continued, "Matthias is more upbeat and he's the kind of person who loves a challenge."

"A challenge, huh?" Elizaveta arched an eyebrow. "He sounds more…_reckless _than Antonio could ever be."

"I admit, he _can _be rather reckless," admitted Emma as she then picked some snickerdoodle with the tongs and then three red velvet cupcakes. "But…I can't help but like that about him; it shows that he's willing to tackle things head on."

"You really have it bad for the handyman, have you?" Elizaveta wriggled her eyebrows in a comical fashion. "What a cliché that is, too!"

Emma smiled sheepishly, "It _does _sound rather cliché, doesn't it? The employer falling for their employee." She sighed, "Honestly, I'm not sure if I should tell him that…I would like to be in a relationship with him…"

"Well, what's holding you back?" questioned Katyusha. "An ex?"

"No, no. Just yesterday, I went over to his house to give him a pie I baked – he wasn't feeling so well," explained Emma. "And well…after we had a bit of a light conversation, things…well…" she fidgeted nervously, a little shy to admit what happened, "We…we _almost _kissed…"

"You kissed!" Elizaveta's green eyes were glowing. "Really? You guys _kissed_?"

"We _almost _kissed," corrected Emma, her face now scarlet. "But we were both interrupted because he had some problems at home…"

Elizaveta deflated, "That really sucks that you were both interrupted. But he _did _almost kiss you – that's a major sign that he must like you, too!"

"I need to say something else here, too," spoke up Emma. "I was the one who initiated it."

"You started the kiss?" inquired Katyusha, eyes widening. "That is very bold of you! I remember clearly back in high school, it was always Antonio who would start the kiss – you must really like Matthias to do such a brave move!"

"I know I have feelings for him," said Emma. "I know that they're not just some little normal crush – it actually hurts when he leaves, and I can't wait for the next day to come when I can see him again…"

"Then why don't you just tell him already?" asked Elizaveta. "Or are you afraid that he'll reject you?"

"There's that," confessed Emma. "But honestly, I also feel that maybe…are we moving too fast? I mean, we've only known each other for two weeks!"

"So what?" questioned Katyusha. "It may only be two weeks, but how much do you know about him? How much does he know about you? Love can happen in the strangest of times and it can come on at once, or give a whisper from a distance – you never know when it will happen to you."

"That is very true," Elizaveta said, her face now had a melancholic tone to it. "Besides, how would you both know that it was meant to be or not with Matthias if you haven't even tried? It seems rather obvious that he likes you, too – he just doesn't know whether to make the first move or not. And Emma, you're one of the bravest and sunniest people I have known! What's there _not _like about you?"

Emma was about to respond, when she could hear the door's chimes jingle as it was swung open. Matthias entered with his toolbox, as well as a rather sheepish look on his face, "I need to get home now – I have to get more supplies and I'm supposed to watch Peter tonight – Norge will be going for his shift in the library."

The Belgian woman bit her lip, "I see…well, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow? Yeah…" the Dane nodded, placing a smile on his face, but it looked rather nervous. "I'll see you tomorrow." He waved as he left.

Emma gave an assertive nod, _'I hope he feels the same way – well, I'll do it! If he won't make the first move, then I'll tell him tomorrow!'_

As he was on his way home, Matthias' eyes were fixed onto the ground, trying to collect his thoughts together on what to do with Emma.

The woman made the first move; it looked like she _wanted_ to kiss him. He responded by also leaning forward, wanting to kiss back. However, today she didn't jump into his arms or anything – it was as if they were both back to being just friends. The Dane was thoroughly confused; if a woman showed she liked you, shouldn't she keep showing those signs of affection? After all, he _did _clearly show that he liked her as well.

Or was she embarrassed and was simply caught up by the whole mood at the item? It looked like it might just be nothing after all – he shouldn't bother anymore; it would hurt far worse than her rejecting him in his face.

'_Lort…'_ the Danish man rubbed his head. _'What the hell am I supposed to do? I suck at these sorts of relationships!'_

"What has gotten into you?" Lukas questioned him when he came home. "You look blue."

"Blue?" Matthias tried to laugh. "No way, Norge! I'm not blue! I'm still alive and breathing!"

The Norwegian man rolled his eyes as he made his way out, "Right…"

"Uncle Matthias!" called Peter running up to give the Dane a hug. "There you are!"

"Yeah, here I am!" Matthias forcefully plastered a grin onto his face; he didn't want to worry the child. "You and I are spending most of the night together, so how about it? What should we do?"

It was during these times, that Matthias was glad Peter was there in his life – the kid was not only great company that warmed the cold nights, but the child's great cheer and positive outlook seemed to lift the Dane's spirits, too.

Matthias grinned as he deflected Peter's ladle attack with a pot. For a moment, he forgot all about Emma and his feelings for her were put on hold.

Now, he was an uncle who was having fun with his nephew.

It was about ten when Peter's eyelids were starting to droop and he was becoming unresponsive. Matthias carried the child up to his room, gently placed him in his bed and tucked him in. The Dane watched the boy drift off to dream land, a fond smile spread out onto his face.

In many ways, when Matthias stared at the child, he couldn't help but be reminded of himself when he was young. He remembered that his father used to laugh at how hyper and full of energy he was – his old man even claimed that the Danish man had bounced around. Matthias knew he was a bit of a handful as a child, but his mother seemed to have an everlasting amount of patient towards him.

Going downstairs, Matthias decided to make himself some coffee and delve back into his situation with Emma. As he waited for the water to be brought to the boil, the Dane rubbed his chin in his spot; should he make the first move?

Hearing the kettle's whistling cut his thoughts; Matthias poured the hot water just as the front door swung open.

"Good evening, Matthias," Tino said joyfully. "Still not sleepy yet?"

The Dane shook his head, "Nah; just tucked Peter to bed actually. Little guy's sleeping soundly."

"That's good," responded Tino as Berwald nodded silently.

As he observed the pair, Matthias knew that thought Tino despised being called a wife and insisted upon it, he loved the Swede nonetheless – Tino had many opportunities to leave, but instead he chose to stay and serve as Berwald's caretaker. Their relationship was rather odd in the Danish man's opinion, but it was clear to see that Berwald was head over heels for the Finn, despite his lack of facial expressions.

Actions speak much louder than words.

Matthias' eyes slightly widened when he saw Berwald reach up to the top shelf to grab a mug that Tino tried desperately to get. The Finnish man flushed as he accepted the mug, thanking him afterward. Berwald nodded as he pushed his glasses back up his nose.

"Hey, guys?"

Tino and Berwald looked at him. "Yes? What is it, Matthias?" questioned Tino curiously.

"I need some advice."

Berwald's head immediately rotated around so he faced Matthias correctly. The Swedish man was truly shocked at hearing those words spout out from the Dane's mouth. Matthias was stubborn; whenever he had a problem, he insisted that he do it all by himself with nobody to help him despite it being obvious that he needed the help.

To hear him say such words, the Swede thought, would be the day that pigs started flying and a Viking ship would start sailing in the sky. Berwald quickly glanced out of the window and saw empty sky.

Tino looked at the Swede anxiously, "Berwald, what are you staring at?"

"Nothing…" Berwald gave a grumbling grunt as he turned his attention back onto Matthias. "What seems to be the problem?"

Matthias leaned back on his seat, "Well, it's just Emma…"

"Your employer?" questioned Tino. "I heard from Peter she's a very nice woman, what seems to be the matter?"

"Not sure what to do with her," admitted the Dane, trying to sum up the right words. "I mean, ever since Waldo gave me the address to work at her shop, I've been having a thing for her. I wasn't sure if she had a thing for me, too. Then, just yesterday…" he cut off, his face suddenly scarlet.

"What happened yesterday?" asked Berwald.

"Well…" Matthias licked his lips, feeling his whole face burn. "We almost kissed."

"Ouch!"

"Whoa! Tino, are you alright there?" Matthias asked in alarm when the Finn accidentally poured hot water onto his hand. Berwald immediately stood up, going to the Finnish man's side as he brought his hand under a tap that ran cold water.

"I-I'm fine!" spluttered out Tino. He chuckled weakly, "Sorry, so clumsy of me! But, really? You and Emma almost kissed?"

"_Almost_," Berwald noted. "Then we interrupted yesterday."

"Yeah, but that can't really be helped," shrugged Matthias. "She _did _kiss me on the cheek. But when I came back today, it was so…_awkward_ around her." He leaned down, now saddened, "It was if we're back to just being friends…_lort_! What if she just wants to be friends? I wanna tell the woman, but if she told me to my face she didn't like me, then…"

"You don't even know unless you try," responded Berwald. "Seeing this side to you is rather strange; I recalled when you would tackle things head on with your head held high. What happened to Matthias Densen?"

"I have to agree with Berwald here," said Tino as he came over with a mug for himself and the Swede, as well as an extra mug with steaming coffee. "If you really want to be happy with her, then you have to take the first step and overcome that fear of rejection. Of course, it won't be easy – but you never know unless you try."

Matthias' blue eyes fixed onto the contents of his mug. He didn't respond as his face was stretched into an uncharacteristically blank expression. Tino exchanged a worried glance with the tall Swede, when the door was swung open.

"Still blue?" Lukas arched an eyebrow as he accepted the mug of coffee from Tino. "You certainly look the part…"

"Blue?" Matthias perked up and chuckled. "Come on, Norge – I'm not blue! I'm still breathing!"

"…_right_…" Lukas rolled his eyes as he took a sip. "Now, what is going on here? The atmosphere is far too serious for my liking…"

"Norge, say that you've only known a woman for like two weeks," said Matthias. "But, you've never felt so strongly for a woman before until then. You both almost share a kiss, get interrupted, then she kisses your cheek in the end. But the next day when you see her, things are awkward between you two and it's like as if you're both just stuck in the friends zone. What do you do?"

Lukas narrowed his eyes, "I would just tell the woman and see how she feels."

Matthias blinked, his eyes widening in curiosity, "Really Norge? You'd tell the woman?"

The Norwegian man sighed, "This has honestly never happened to me before – at the most, I had a simple high school crush; nothing more. A crush and falling in love are two very different things. Even so, you are not sure which one it is unless you ultimately try pursuing the relationship together, or you don't."

"He is very right there," agreed Tino.

"It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all," quoted Berwald. Seeing the other three stare at him, the Swede's glasses flashed ominously, "What?"

"Yeah…I get where you're all coming from," Matthias said, feeling his confidence boost back into its former state. He stood up as he then guzzled down his coffee, "Yeah! I'm telling her tomorrow!"

"And what will you do if she rejects you?" inquired Lukas.

Matthias stopped for a moment. He looked to the table, again thinking, but smiled as he faced the Norwegian man, "Though it's gonna hurt me so much…I'm glad I met her."

"I hear that Peter's school is also having a cultural festival," added Tino. "That would be the perfect opportunity to ask her out."

Matthias nodded as he placed the mug into the sink as he went for the stairs, "That sounds awesome; yeah, I'm gonna give it my best shot tomorrow! Well, gonna hit the hay, thanks a lot, guys!"

When he disappeared up the stairs, Lukas watched as Berwald and Tino were having a bit of a discussion about Peter's upcoming school event. Right now, the pair were currently looking into a recipe book as Tino was excitedly chatting to the Swede, who simply stared down at the colourfully splashed pages.

Lukas couldn't help but feel amused.

The next day, Matthias had gathered everything – his toolbox, his bag and his confidence in full stride. With his head held high, and after greeting his family with a hearty good morning, he left to work again, now determined.

When he entered the shop, he could see Emma fixing velvet boxes and ribbons into neat piles. The Dane could feel his stomach twisting into big knots and unwinding themselves just as quickly, but, after running his tongue over his bottom lip, he came over to help.

"Oh! Matthias!" Emma exclaimed when his larger figure suddenly loomed over her, helping with the boxes and the ribbons. "Good morning!"

"Morning to you, too," the Dane smiled, making the Belgian woman feel far more nervous than she was today. He then lowered his voice as he leaned down to whisper, "I need to ask you something important."

"Important?" Emma asked, freezing slightly in her spot.

"Yeah, _very _important. I'll tell you after we finish sorting out these boxes and ribbons, okay?"

"O-okay…yeah!" the Belgian woman quickly forced a smile on her face as she and the Dane continued fixing the assortment of coloured velvet boxes and the ribbons as well, placing them into neat, organized piles.

Last night, she was pacing to and fro in her room while Lars was watching a few movies. Clasping her hands, the Belgian woman tried to regain her confidence for the next day where if the Dane wasn't going to do something, then she will.

However, it seemed like she wouldn't have to do anything after all.

After fixing the boxes and ribbons, Emma looked at the Dane, hands clasped at her front. "Okay, now what is it that you wanted to ask me?" she questioned calmly.

Matthias swallowed the lump that hitched into his throat; it was now or never, do or die. After taking a deep breath, he finally spoke, "Pete's having a cultural festival at his school, coming up pretty soon. Everyone's invited there – family, friends, all that. I was wondering if you would…" his voice suddenly cracked slightly, causing himself to redden and for the Belgian woman to cover her mouth to hide the small giggle. "Would you accompany me for the day?"

"Are you asking me out?" Emma asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Matthias blinked then rubbed the back of his head, "Yes. I'm asking you out…and hopefully, we can go out on many more dates after that?"

Emma tapped her chin, face contemplating deeply. Matthias watched her anxiously, wringing his hands together as his eyes fixed onto every little detail of her being. The Belgian woman finally responded, "Well, hanging out together in each other's company for the whole day? Hmm…"

"I understand…if you don't, wanna," spoke up Matthias, trying to control the shaking in his voice and the quivering in his boots. "I-I understand…perfectly…" before he could finish however, Emma suddenly leaned up again, and planted another kiss onto his cheek. The Dane stared at her in shock.

"What are you talking about? I'd love to go out with you," Emma said with a big smile. "I'd love to."

Matthias couldn't help but feel the wave of relief overcome his entire body. His face was burning by now, but he cared not as a huge grin spread out over his face.

All of a sudden, before Emma knew it, the Dane had picked her up in his arms and began dancing round with her, loudly cheering. The Belgian woman was highly flustered upon being lifted up so easily, but couldn't help her tinkling laugh as she placed her hands upon his firm shoulders.

Unbeknownst to the pair, a Norwegian man was watching outside at a safe distance where his presence was not noticeable. He had overheard the whole conversation and after seeing the Danish man and the Belgian woman embrace each other, he smirked, "Knew it would run smoothly, you idiot…"

* * *

_Lukas, you sly bastard. Haha, yeah I had to end it there, but unfortunately it's Sunday 7th October here in my neck of the woods. Tomorrow, I'll be leaving on a plane to South Korea with my best friend/roommate/Spain, then we'll be trekking around Asia - Thailand after, make a stop at Hong Kong, then finally go to the Philippines. I may or may not update again at about 11-12, since it's only 7 pm here._

_Well, thoughts and opinions guys? In case I don't update here, have a nice month! :DDD_


	9. Place Into the Oven And Heat For

_Hey guys, HetaWriter/HetaReader here - I deeply apologize for not updating once I came back from my trip! However, I was busy juggling work, uni and my other fics, that this was pushed to the back of my mind. Then next, when I remember to go back to this fic, something else comes up! DX_

_Anyway, thanks for being extremely patient with me (though I wouldn't blame you if you aren't). Big thanks goes to **FazzyGrl.22 **for the fave, **Roxburry Black****, ****darkmistressofsilence92 **and **kurtt** for the follows, **blood-guts-chocolatecake **for the fave AND the follow, and to **washing-machines, September Samstar, K-Ojousama **and **Miwasaki Yuki rin **for the reviews!_

_**washing-machines:** Thank you very much, and yes, I had an AWESOME time in Asia! There were a few mishaps though; my Spain kept getting himself lost! XD Glad you were satisfied with this!  
_

_**September Samstar:** Hehe, yeah - I love the relationships between the Nordic 5 and Sealand; they're quite family and brotherly to me. Ahh, Emil's case will be touched upon only briefly in this story - I'm working on another story that's revolved through Emil's perspective. I'm glad you actually put up a question about Elizaveta - because there's also a backstory to her, too. It'll be definitely answered here in this fic. Hope your test worked out well, and I'll go check for that new fic of yours, later. :D  
_

_**K-Ojousama: **Antonio's actually my 2nd favourite Hetalia character overall - he's fun to write as much as tsundere characters because he's so spacey and naive. Yeah, I imagine Matthias to be the jealous type, but not the meaningful bitchy type - more of the gets irritated and snaps without meaning to, type. Ah, I see, but if you don't mind me asking; how did you end up like that?  
_

_**Miwasaki Yuki rin:** I'm actually considering making a few more, but obviously I'll do that only when I finish with this, go through Smoke Catching Fire, and update some of my other stuff, too - I've been neglecting The Soldieras of late. Haha, yeah Norge's an awesome Nordic, isn't he? Thanks, I had an awesome time in Asia! :D  
_

_**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own Hetalia.  
_

* * *

Matthias couldn't help but feel excited, yet nervous today.

Today was the day of the cultural festival at Peter's school. It was also the day that he and Emma were going to go out on a date for the very first time.

The others had immediately leapt onto his case when they discovered that Matthias was planning to simply go to Peter's cultural festival (a.k.a. his date) dressed in his usual coveralls and black shirt only. The Dane wasn't so sure if a makeover was even necessary since he and Emma weren't going to some fancy place.

Plus, he felt more comfortable this way, and he looked hot with those clothes, in his opinion.

"Don't protest, idiot," Lukas said tonelessly as he shoved a belt into Matthias' hands. "Just use that with those jeans…"

Matthias' baby blues widened in shock, "Really? You're giving me your belt to use, Norge? Thanks a lot!"

"Shut up."

The Dane peered down at the belt and saw that it was a checkered one with what appeared to be a sphere with wings, which made up the buckle. Matthias remembered the Norwegian man said something about this being from some game that involved an elf with a sword, but couldn't help but feel that the belt wasn't exactly his style – it was more Lukas' style if anything…

"Matthias, how does your hair even stay like this?" questioned Tino as he tried to comb down the Dane's pale blonde locks, only for them to spring back up again. The Finnish man had tried to mat them down in a swept manner much like Matthias' fringe, but no matter how many times or how hard he combed down those spikes, they always bounced back up. Naturally, Tino grew frustrated with this.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Matthias yelped. "Man, Tino, that's enough! My hair's cool already! Leave it alone!"

Tino flushed at realizing that as a result of his frustration to control Matthias' hair, he was shoving the comb harder down on the Dane's head, so the teeth were getting pushed right into Matthias' scalp. "I'm so sorry!" he squeaked.

At this point, Berwald had walked into the room with his arms filled with neatly folded shirts. The Swede simply stared at the Finnish man's attempts to tame the Dane's wild tresses and said nothing as he picked up what appeared to be a somewhat frilly, navy blue shirt. "Think this'll look good on him?" he asked in his usual mumble.

Lukas rubbed his chin as he examined the shirt that Berwald was holding while Matthias just stared at it in disbelief – that shirt looked so old-fashioned to him and a bit…_fruity_.

When Matthias eventually left the house, fed up with everyone trying to either slam his hair down or dress him up in various clothes that weren't just his style (he knew that his family was only trying to help, but seriously, he was hot enough already), he began to feel a twisting in his stomach as he ran a hand through his hair.

Later on his way to Emma's, he stopped when he caught sight of a florist watering some of their products outside their shop on this warm and clear day.

The Danish man ended up leaving the florist's with a bouquet of red poppies in his arms.

'Lort_…this day _has _to be perfect!'_

Emma meanwhile was just a nervous as he was. Lars had already left moments prior after his shift, so he knew nothing about Emma's date with the Danish man, but that wasn't the reason why the Belgium woman was so jumpy and fidgety.

It was simply because she was dating Matthias.

Honestly, she wanted everything to be perfect on this date, and first began looking at her clothes to find the perfect outfit. Rummaging through her dresses and shirts, she licked her lips as a crumpled heap of clothes began to form right on her bed. It was five minutes later that she was able to finally find what she deemed perfect for her date.

Next, she checked her reflection many times to see if she looked fine – she hoped that she had no signs of blemish forming on her face.

When she saw that there was none, she debated on whether or not she should put make-up on. However, she decided not to in the end, and left the cosmetics alone in the make-up bag near her bed.

They weren't going to some place fancy. Plus, make-up always made her face feel heavy, and as if she wore a mask.

She closed the shop for the day when she could see his tall, brawny figure approach. She waved at him after turning the sign around, trying to control the fluttery feeling in her chest and the twisting and turning in her stomach.

Likewise, Matthias gave a wide beam a he held the bouquet in one hand and waved merrily with the other, though he was feeling quite sick with nervousness at the thought of making a huge screw-up. "Got these for you," he said, face now tinted with a slight scarlet. "Y-you look really nice, by the way…" it took a lot in him to control his voice from cracking.

A bright beam spread across Emma's face as she gently took hold of the bouquet. "Poppies! Oh, you shouldn't have!" she began to smile shyly upon looking the Dane up and down. "You're quite good-looking yourself. Wait for a moment; I'll put these in some water, first." She quickly fetched a vase and filled it with water from the compartment so the flowers would not perish. Getting her purse, she fixed her ribbon headband a bit as she cleared her throat and smiled up at the Danish man, "Well, shall we?"

"Yeah," Matthias nodded. He offered her his arm, to which she wrapped one arm around, making his heart flutter, "Let's go!"

Once they reached Peter's school, Matthias opened the door and allowed Emma to go in first, to which the Belgian woman giggled, causing him to flush furiously, however she quickly took hold of his arm again as they entered. She was rather embarrassed herself at being forward, but really, she couldn't help it; he was a really great guy and they had a mutual attraction.

Also, his arm was very well chiseled, and consisted of smooth skin where finely formed muscle lay underneath.

Upon entering, the pair could see that despite it only being eleven, already, there was a fair amount of people. The children themselves were trying to set up their stalls in preparation for customers while some of the teachers helped around. Several citizens of the town were simply stalking around and keeping note of any places to go to later.

Matthias noticed that the children were all wearing clothes consisting from other cultures. However, after gazing around interestedly, he could see that the teachers themselves were wearing their country's national costumes, it seemed.

"Emma! Matthias! Hello there!" a familiar voice called.

The couple turned their heads around to see Elizaveta at the top of a ladder, waving madly at them with a big smile on her face; her green eyes twinkling. She was wearing a velvet bodice with braid decoration, a long, satin skirt and a lace apron, as well as boots.

"Oh, hello there, Lizzie!" Emma smiled as she turned to face the Hungarian woman, still holding onto Matthias' arm. "I see you're wearing your national dress! It's quite lovely!"

"Oh, this old thing?" laughed Elizaveta. "But what about you? You look absolutely gorgeous! White was always your colour!"

It was here that Matthias just nodded a few times, but honestly; he really couldn't care less about a conversation on clothing – the topic seemed far too feminine for him, really. He began gazing around to see if something interesting was going on.

The Dane had spotted a little boy, who looked no older than six, with auburn hair and a single wild curl protruding from his left. The little guy was wearing a white bandana and a loose shirt with a drawstring closure as well as some dark pants and a little, white cloak.

Right now, the poor kid was having trouble trying to reach for something on top of a tall shelf for what appeared to be a hammer, but that was when Matthias took action.

The Dane quickly came up to the child, his arm slipping out from Emma's grip, and went up to the child.

Emma herself was taken aback at the lack of warmth she encircled earlier, but when she turned her head around, she saw that the Danish man was simply helping a child get something from a high shelf with ease. The Belgian woman couldn't help but smile a bit at how friendly and willing to help he was.

"Here, kid, you wanted this, right?" Matthias grinned as he shook the hammer in his hand, while the other was on his hip. He then gave a bellowing laugh as he leaned down to offer the tool, when the child suddenly started to cry.

The Dane immediately stopped, horrified as the child cried in a noticeable Italian accent, "I'm sorry! I'll do anything you want! Please, don't eat me!"

"What? No! I'm not gonna eat you!" Matthias said in a panicked yet hushed tone – he knew that Emma was nearby, and so was Elizaveta. Didn't that Hungarian woman take a kindergarten class? This kid looked about that age. Plus, he must look like a complete asshole to Emma, to make a kid cry. "Come on! I was only giving this to you! Please, stop crying! There's a woman I really like behind me!"

"What's the problem?" Matthias froze upon the presence looming behind him. He slowly turned his head around and was met by Emma's concerned emerald hues. "Why's he crying?"

Matthias bit his lip as he ran a hand through his spiky, blonde hair, "I really don't know…I was only giving him this hammer, and he thinks I'm gonna eat him!"

"Eat him?" echoed Emma in surprise. She arched an elegant eyebrow, but burst into laughter soon after and the clueless look on the Dane's face, "Why on earth would he think that?"

"H-he looks so scary!" sniffed the Italian boy. "He's so…b-big! And he was…l-laughing so scarily!"

"My laugh's not scary!" protested Matthias, feeling his cheeks heat up. "I can't help being tall, either! I'm from Denmark, and Danish men have an average height of five foot, eleven!"

"That's pretty tall," said Emma. "That's about the same height as Lars, actually…"

"Really?" Matthias asked with both his eyebrows arched. "That's how tall I am!"

"Feli, are you alright?" Elizaveta had safely climbed down the ladder and instantly came over to the little Italian boy. "What happened? Why were you crying?" she asked as she knelt down and began hugging the boy.

"It was a misunderstanding," explained Emma evenly. "He wanted a hammer, and Matthias got it, but I guess…" she looked a little sheepish, however, that didn't compare to how the Dane felt.

"I guess I kinda spooked him," Matthias said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm really sorry there, kid…" he then offered his hand out to the little boy.

Elizaveta nodded at the Italian boy as she rubbed his back and gently nudged him forward a little.

The little kid sniffed and nodded as he took Matthias' large and calloused hand with his own chubby, little one, "I-it's okay…who are you?"

Matthias gave a big smile again as he jerked a thumb at himself, "The name's Matthias! How about you, kid?"

"_Ciao_!" said the little boy as he smiled, too. "I'm Feliciano! Feliciano Vargas!"

"Wait, Vargas?" Emma tilted her head as her eyes widened. "Could your brother possibly be Lovino?"

Hearing this, Feliciano's eyes immediately dried from their tears and he seemed bouncy. He clapped his hands as he excitedly exclaimed, "_Sí_! _Sí_! He's my _fratello_! Do you know him, _bella_?"

"I knew I could see some resemblance!" Emma laughed as she clasped her hands together. "You look a lot like your big brother!"

Here, Feliciano giggled, "I'm glad! He's really cool! What's your name, _bella_?"

"I'm Emma," responded the Belgian woman pleasantly as she offered her own delicate hand to him. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Emma!" Feliciano then took the Belgian's hand in both of his own and planted a little kiss there. Matthias couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at seeing Emma get wooed more by a child; and a child who was doing it with ease, as well. "Well, I have to go now! I'm gonna run a pasta stall with Luddy! He might be here now! See you later!" and with that, he excitedly bound off.

"I forgot that you knew Lovino, too!" exclaimed Elizaveta as she beamed. "So many things _did _happen while you were gone!"

"I'll say," sighed Emma. "I didn't know that Lovino had a brother until now!"

"Well, Feli _is _six years old," reasoned Elizaveta. "Lovino himself is in high school now, too; it's a miracle that Feli was even born in the first place! But my…they do grow up so fast…"

"Speaking of grow up; Feli mentioned Luddy; was he referring to Ludwig? Ludwig, Gilbert's little brother?"

Elizaveta's smile grew even wider, "Yes, that's who he was talking about! Ludwig's also in high school, but Feli likes spending time with him a lot; it's really cute, actually!"

Matthias tried to keep track of the conversation, but he was quickly lost at the mentions of the many names that were uttered, and soon his head began spinning. The Dane blinked his baby blues as he stood up from his spot and rubbed his temple.

Seeing him stand, Emma immediately latched one of her arms around his own again as she then noticed that the Danish man looked a bit far-off and spacey – he most likely had no clue what was going on. She quickly spoke up, "Well, Lizzie, I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Later, huh?" Elizaveta arched an eyebrow, but nodded as she beamed, "Of course! You lovebirds have fun, okay?" she giggled manically as she left the pair, who were both now flushing a furious scarlet.

Matthias may have been slightly dizzy from the conversation that Emma and the Hungarian woman had before, but he could definitely understand what Elizaveta had said. He began to blush profoundly since it _was _true that he and Emma were going out on a date. But, what were they exactly?

'_We're just trying it out, first,' _the Dane told himself. _'If this goes successfully, then I can claim her as mine!'_

Similarly, Emma was having thoughts just like him; she was unsure what to call their status together since they technically weren't a full-fledged couple yet, but hopefully, if this date came as a success, then they could be so. The Belgian woman cleared her throat as she gave a lopsided smile, "Lizzie really enjoys teasing. Well, why don't we look around a bit more?"

Matthias nodded as he swallowed the lump in his throat, "Yeah…let's go."

It was then, that the pair continued looking around the gymnasium at more stalls and seeing many more people dressed in cultural garments. The time passed by and with the more seconds that flew by, the more comfortable and less tense, Matthias and Emma felt around each other.

Soon, it finally reached the point where the pair were laughing warmly as they continued walking around, emerged into deep conversation. It was also here that Matthias had his arm now wrapped around Emma's shoulders while the Belgian woman lay her head close to his side.

"Uncle Matthias! Miss Emma! Hi!"

The pair turned around to fully face the speaker and beamed upon seeing Peter waving his arm enthusiastically at a stall that consisted of the various Nordic flags. There was the blue with gold cross of Sweden, the white with blue cross of Finland, the red with white cross of Denmark, the red with white and blue cross of Norway, and finally the blue with white and red cross of Iceland. Naturally, the two adults came over to the boy's stall, which was now preparing itself for customers.

Much to Emma's amusement, Peter was wearing a really huge coat that was expertly made from fur and silk, but he discarded it later on when he approached the cooking equipment. Underneath the coat, he was wearing a white sweater with the bodice consisting of a red, diamond patterning. Upon his sandy blonde hair was a cylinder-shaped, furry cap.

Matthias grinned as he leaned down to Peter's level, "Hey, Pete! How's your stall doing now? Ready to sell stuff?"

Peter nodded, looking excited, "We're ready soon, uncle Matthias!"

"What are you selling, anyway?" the Dane questioned as he cocked his head slightly to the right.

"Food!" exclaimed Peter. "Our family's food!"

Here, Matthias grinned even wider, "Really? Got some Danish recipes in your book?"

Unfortunately, Peter shook his head, "No, I'm really sorry, uncle Matthias – but you were so busy with fixing Miss Emma's shop, that I thought you wouldn't want to cook because you'd get tired…"

Matthias cried, "Are you kidding me?! I wouldn't get tired at all! Not for this!" he sighed as he drooped. "That sucks; Danish food's wholesome and filling! Well…at least you got everyone else's stuff, right? Even Emil?"

"Actually, no," Peter shook his head. "Uncle Emil didn't give any recipes from Iceland. Uncle Lukas did give Norwegian recipes, though."

"Emil still not talking, huh?" Matthias sighed as he stood up straight again. However, he plastered a wide beam on his face so as not to worry Emma. "Well, you can bet that Emma and I will come over and check it out once it's done!" he then noticed the girl from his last visit to Peter's school; with the ponytail and flower scrunchie. He smiled and waved, "Hello there!"

The girl scowled and simply went back to mixing stuff in a bowl. Matthias' grin faltered a bit and he rubbed the back of his head, giving a slight scowl, "Guess she really doesn't like me…"

Emma giggled, "I think it's just reverse psychology."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing!" the Belgian woman then nudged the Dane as they continued walking. "Speaking of cooking, when are you going to make me some desserts from your home country? Hmm? And that pie you keep talking about; I'd love to try that."

Matthias smirked as he rubbed his chest with his free knuckled, "Sometime in future, really soon, you'll taste good old Danish cuisine! Prepare for your taste-buds to be amazed!"

Emma giggled at how confident he looked, "I'll be waiting eagerly for that day, then!"

Continuing along the way, the pair eventually reached a game stall which consisted of a dunking tank. Seated right on the seat was a boy with dark blonde hair and a single ahoge, and dark blue eyes. He was wearing what appeared to be Western wear. He was currently sticking his tongue out at a person who was chucking balls at the target, and failing miserably.

"You really suck at this!" taunted the boy. "Come on! Try harder! Try and dunk the hero!"

The said person, who was pitching, had dark brown hair with a single, familiar and wild curl protruding from his right. He also had fierce amber eyes that consisted of a dancing flame, and olive skin. He was wearing the boy's high school uniform that consisted of a white shirt, a red tie, and grey pants.

"You really, _really _suck, dude! Come on!"

"You're asking for it, now, kid!" snarled the brunette in a very thick Italian accent. "I'm gonna dunk you if it's the last thing I do!"

"Um, Lovino…you've run out of credits," a voice suddenly spoke up.

Matthias himself almost jumped when he saw that there was another high school boy – he was standing right beside the Italian. This one had wavy, light blonde hair with a very wild curl that was dangling at the top, and he was wearing glasses over his pale, violet eyes.

"Dammit! You got any more dollars on you?"

"No, sorry…"

"Excuse me…"

Much to Matthias' surprise, Berwald was now towering over the two high school students; his face still as serious as ever. The Swede was gazing down, his storm blue eyes intensely bearing right into the two teenagers.

"C-Chigi!" squeaked the Italian as he backed away instantly; behind his bespectacled, blonde friend. The friend gulped, "Umm…"

"Ohh! That looks so adorable, don't you think, Berwald?" Tino gushed happily as he gazed at a line of stuffed toys. "Oh! And that one, too! Oh, so sweet!"

"You want one?" the boy from the dunk booth piped up, grinning. "You can win them if you dunk me!"

Berwald narrowed his eyes and pushed his glasses up his nose onto their perch. "Dunk you?" he questioned.

The boy at the dunk booth nodded eagerly; unfazed with the Swede's usually intimidating aura. "Yeah! Just dunk me by hitting that target with one of those baseballs," he motioned to the said target, which was white with a black dot on the middle. "And you get one of those toys as a prize! Cool, right?"

"Hmm…" Berwald then carefully picked up one of the baseballs from the ground and inspected it with a stern eye. He then eyed the target and mumbled, "Hit that target?"

"Yup!"

"With this?"

"Yeah, dude! Go for it!"

"Warn you, though; the game's freaking rigged," grumbled the Italian from his spot behind his friend.

Berwald blinked, but that didn't reduce his daunting aura one bit. The Swedish man reared back his arm a little and chucked the ball with relative ease.

At once, the ball collided straight into the target, and as a result – the boy fell straight into the pool underneath, his mouth opened in shock at being dunked so easily.

"Oh! He's okay, right?" Tino asked worriedly as he clasped his hands together. Berwald simply walked over to the pool and yanked the child out, causing the Finn to sigh in relief, "Oh, thank goodness!"

"That was _awesome_!" exclaimed the child as he waved his arms around. "Totally wicked! Dude, that was so cool!"

Berwald arched an eyebrow at the child's antics, but then questioned in his mumbling tone, "May I please get a prize now?"

"Sure! But you gotta dunk me again!"

"Excuse me?"

"Dunk me again, and I'll give you the prize!"

Matthias thought the child was crazy for having such a request, but for some reason, the image of Berwald dunking a hyper child continuously into a pool was highly amusing. At least, to the Dane, it was; Tino looked really worried, while the Italian was dumbfounded. His friend appeared equally nervous.

"Lovi~! There you are, _mi hermano_!"

Matthias turned around to see a familiar crop of mocha-coloured hair, coupled with jade green eyes, enter the scene. He inwardly groaned while Emma beamed and waved, "Hey there, Toni!"

Antonio gave a shimmering laugh as he approached the pair. From what Matthias could see, the Spaniard was wearing what appeared to be a bull-fighter's outfit. The Dane thought it looked far too flashy in his opinion, but begrudgingly couldn't help but admit that it was finely crafted – the ringlets on the shoulder's pad, and the patterns were beautifully intricate, too. Antonio was also holding a red cape that was sprawled over one shoulder, and he was carrying what appeared to be a hat in the other.

"Don't you look dashing?" teased Emma. "Is it for someone in particular?"

Antonio chuckled, "No…not at all, _señorita _Emma." He beamed when he saw Matthias, "_Hola_ again, _señor _Matthias! Long time no see, huh?"

"Yeah…_really _long time," Matthias narrowed his eyes; his baby blues becoming fierce ice-coloured flames – radiating a cold feel, but burning brilliantly. Despite knowing that Emma didn't have feelings for the Spaniard anymore, it didn't mean that Matthias was willing to allow her to be snatched by him – especially not by some man who could probably flaunt his stuff with such a form-fitting outfit.

However, the Spaniard didn't seem to notice the Dane's hostility at all and simply smiled as he wrapped an arm around the Italian's shoulder, "You remember Lovi, right?"

"I had a feeling it _was _you!" exclaimed Emma as she stretched her hand out. "Remember me, Lovino? It's me, Emma!"

Lovino's eyes widened a bit, but they suddenly sparkled and brightened in shade. Pretty soon after, the Italian's cheeks were tinged scarlet as he licked his lips and nodded, "Y-yeah! I remember…"

"You've grown so much!" continued Emma, as she surveyed Lovino up and down. "You were so short and chubby before, but now look at you!"

Lovino sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he gave a small, soft smile, "Cheh…_grazie bella_…"

"Indeed, you _have _grown a lot, Lovi~" chirped Antonio as he ruffled the Italian's hair, warranting a scowl from him. "Almost as handsome as me!"

Lovino snorted, "Oh, please; I'm handsomer than you any day – you're becoming old."

"Aww, that's mean, Lovi~!" Antonio pouted. "I'm not _that _old!"

"I sure hope not," spoke up Emma. "I'm the same age as you, and Matthias here is only older by one year."

Lovino flushed scarlet, "N-no! That's…that's not what I meant! I mean, you look beautiful as ever, and…! I-I mean…! Chigi!" and with that, he suddenly ran away from the scene, shocking Matthias and Emma.

"Is he okay?" the Dane asked after some thought.

Antonio scratched his head, "I'm sure he's alright; he didn't look sick…" he then shrugged and then patted Emma's shoulder and smiled, "So, how are you liking it here? Really nice, huh? Enjoying yourselves?"

"Oh, definitely!" replied Emma with a bright beam as he squeezed Matthias' arm. "We're enjoying it a lot!"

"_Muy bueno_!" Antonio nodded, still smiling. "That's good to hear!"

Just when Matthias wondered if the Spaniard knew any other emotion than joy, a snarl ripped the once flowing air, prompting the Dane to snap his head around to see who spoke.

"You bastard-!"

* * *

_Thus concludes this chapter - you can all take a guess as to who the person yelling that is and to who they're yelling at. I'll try hard not to delay the next chapter, but really, I'm so busy nowadays...geez, I'd rather type than work, though...TT_TT_

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions? They really make my day and make me less tired. Until next time! :DDD_


	10. Carefully Take It Out From the Oven

_Hello there, HetaWriter/HetaReader here - again, I probably sound like a broken record or annoying, but again, I apologize for not updating this story for a while. TTnTT_

_Well, I hope I can make it up to you guys - but I'll say it now that my updating times will be odd - it can be updated in a range of a day to a month, because I'm getting more busy. I feel better though, and I sincerely thank everyone who's chosen to stick by and follow this story. Really, that means a lot to me that you'd be willing to wait for me to write. :D _

_A BIG thanks to everyone who has faved, followed and reviewed! Really, that means a lot to me. _

_** : **Thank you, I hope you enjoy further. :) I'm feeling quite better now, thank you for your words._

_**K-Ojousama: **Yes, it's now been updated again. XD I wish you the best of luck! :D_

_**Sapphire Inu: **Haha, yeah, I'm like that towards crack pairings - screw it! I'm shipping this, and besides, maybe they have relations together. Hehe, thanks...even now, I'm still trying to get used to writing a romance with a plot. XD  
_

_Now, shall we continue?_

* * *

Matthias instantly whipped his head around as did the Belgian woman beside him. Antonio also turned his head around to see where the snarl had come from.

It was a most unusual sight that the three adults beheld.

One bucket filled with the white balls used to pitch at the dunk pool's target was splayed over, the balls just rolling everywhere. There was also a man who was trying hard to get up near the dunk pool where Tino, Berwald and the hyper child who wanted to get dunked were at. The man was holding onto the dunk pool's edge as his legs wobbled and eventually, his feet gave way and he slipped over again. He also had a bucket on his head, no doubt from where the white balls came from.

There was another man, but this one was getting out of the dunk pool - his green parka completely drenched, while the white mask that covered his eyes was beginning to slip down his face, prompting him to push it back up with his index and middle fingers. The man was olive skinned, and he had short, black hair where there was a double curl that rested on his nape as well as having a stubbled chin.

The Dane then noticed that there was one more man. This one was just standing there; clad in a white suit, giving him a rather poised and refined appearance to the point that Matthias felt his eyes avert away in embarrassment before the guy could even catch him glancing.

This regal looking man simply turned his head and spoke in a low, deep voice, "Sadik...Mr Lars, are you both alright?"

Matthias squinted his eyes and saw indeed, much to his amazement, the man with the bucket on his head was Emma's brother. Emma herself was stunned at seeing her brother in such a predicament.

"Crap..." the masked man, Sadik, grumbled as he shook his head, causing a lot of people to squeal in protest and shield themselves from the drops flying around. "What do you think, Gupta? That was shit!" he knocked on Lars' bucket, causing the Dutchman to quiver and give a snarl, "You alright there, Larsie boy?"

"I will be if you do not do that ever again," Lars growled in a deathly quiet voice as he began attempting to remove the bucket from his head.

"You need help, hold on," Sadik started making his way out of the dunk pool. No sooner had his foot almost touched the floor when Gupta then spoke up, "Wait, don't - the floor is..."

Too late, when Sadik placed his foot down on the floor, he suddenly slipped over and onto his back. Matthias wondered how the man could've slipped, but that was when he spotted something shiny on the wooden floor. Upon closer inspection, he could see what it was that caused Sadik to slip.

"A marble?" Emma arched her eyebrow.

"Hey, I used to play with those when I was a kid," Matthias said with a fond smile. "Oh, yeah. Norge always won, though - his aim and trajectory was always top notch..."

Gupta sighed, "I told you to be careful."

"Who the hell drops marbles for people to slip?!" demanded Sadik as he gripped onto the dunk pool's edge and carefully placed his foot on a space where the marbles weren't present. He then pulled on Lars' arm, "Here, I'll help you up. Come on, just lean on me..."

Lars was gripping onto Sadik's arm, but no sooner had he placed his foot down upon making his way up, when he slipped from accidentally stepping onto another marble. The Dutchman gave a loud swear as he immediately slipped forwards and, since he was holding onto the Turkish man who didn't expect it, brought him down with him. They both, after a loud yell and another curse, landed on the ground with the Turkish man right on top of the Dutchman.

"What the hell?" Lars grunted as he began yanking at his bucket. "This sucks."

Sadik snorted, "It ain't no picnic where I am, either! Seriously, you smell like smoke!"

"You're one to talk; I can smell the ashes of your own smoking from under this damn bucket."

"Bro! Are you alright?" Emma was about to make her way over to her brother, when Matthias stopped her and pointed at the marbles on the ground. The Belgian woman simply blinked and began kicking the marbles away with her shoe. The Danish man simply followed and helped her assist the two fallen men. "Hold on, just stay still," she then yanked the bucket off of his head, and with a loud pop, Lars' face was viewable. "Really, what happened? Oh, hello Sadik!" she waved at the Turkish man.

Sadik smiled as he waved back, "Hello, Emma."

"Where are they?" Lars pale green eyes were now deadly flames as he leapt up to his feet and began scanning around the area. "Where are those little..."

"Hey, look at scar-face over there!" an obnoxious voice laughed. "Look at his face!"

Matthias turned and saw a group of boys wearing the uniform of Emil's high school, choking on their laughter as they pointed right at them. They high-fived each other when the Dane noticed that one of them was carrying an empty, little sack; no doubt where the marbles came from.

"Excuse me," Gupta tapped Antonio on the shoulder. The Spaniard gave a small start and turned to face the Egyptian man, asking what was wrong. Gupta pointed at the tomato that the Spaniard was now holding, "May I have that for a moment?"

"You again?!" Sadik shouted at the group of teenagers, now understandably furious. "I thought you learnt your lesson the first time!"

"I thought you learnt your lesson the first time," one of the boys, the leader probably, mimicked the Turkish man in a mocking voice. He then laughed, "You don't tell me what to do, old man!" his friends were high-fiving him as they continued laughing.

"You little...!"

Suddenly, much to everyone's surprise, a tomato splattered right onto the boy's face; making Matthias recall the one time when he was playing baseball with Lukas and when it was the Norwegian man's turn to pitch, the ball hit the Dane squarely between the eyes. The tomato caused the target to shriek and yell in disgust as he quickly began wiping it from his face.

Next, the group of boys were being pelted by white balls.

Emma and Matthias turned around to see that Berwald, Tino, and the hyper kid who wanted to be dunked were throwing white balls straight at the group of boys, who were now attempting to shield themselves as they made a break for it. "This ain't worth our trouble! Let's go!" and with that, they fled the scene.

"Hmph! Good riddance!" snorted Tino.

Matthias couldn't help but give a nervous chuckle; when it came to revenge, there was no underestimating the Finnish man. If you were on his list, expect a piece of revenge that was at least ten times worse than the dish you served first. Berwald simply nodded in agreement and dropped the remaining white balls he had in the bucket that Lars' head was in earlier.

"Are you both alright?" the Finnish man asked Sadik and Lars, his contorted, vengeful expression now morphed into a soft, concerned one.

Sadik waved a dismissive hand, "Don't worry about it; we're fine! Right, Larsie boy?" he then shook at the Dutchman's shoulder.

Lars snorted as he adjusted his scarf, grumbling, "Yeah...wish I could've given those brats a piece of my mind, though..."

Tino clasped his hands together, "But, it's good that you're both okay!" he then turned to Gupta and smiled, "You have a good aim! Really; that tomato hit him straight in the face!"

"Wait, that was you?" the little, hyper boy asked in shock, pointing at the Egyptian man who simply gave a half-hearted shrug. "Dude...that was so cool!" he then started tugging on the bottom of Gupta's shirt and shouted, "Teach me! Teach me to throw as awesomely as you do!"

Gupta's expression was serious, but he leaned over, rested his hands on his knees, and came to eye-level with the boy. "Maybe some time in future," the Egyptian man said gently.

"Hell yeah!"

"My tomato, though..." Antonio pouted. "You threw my poor tomato..."

Gupta cleared his throat as he straightened his posture. "I apologize for that," he said sincerely. "I'll give you a new one when I see a tomato."

Antonio then laughed and shook his head, "Nah, don't worry, mi amigo. I was only kidding - besides, the tomato was used for a good cause!" he then turned to the Dutchman and gave a big beam, "Lars~!" he then bounded towards the tall blonde, and immediately wrapped his arms around him, "I haven't seen you in ages~! How are you, mi amigo?"

Lars' eye twitched, "Get...the hell...off of me..." and with that, he roughly shoved the Spaniard off of him, warranting Antonio to jut out his bottom lip.

"Aw, come on, Lars~! Why are you so mean?" he whined.

"Because you're a whiny, little idiot, that's why," Lars said coldly, his words acidic and biting.

Matthias knew that it was cruel of him, but he liked it when Lars insulted Antonio; how the Spaniard's face stopped smiling and actually showed some hurt. It showed that Antonio wasn't just capable of smiling, plus, it also showed that Lars didn't approve of Antonio at all.

Tino and Berwald began to see that things were becoming more heated, and felt rather awkward at the scene before them, so they decided to get the hyper child to show them around. The hyper child seemed really ecstatic and began dragging the Finnish man and the Swede everywhere.

"C'mon, bro!" Emma scolded. "Be nice! Toni's our friend-"

"He's your friend," the Dutchman said with a snort. "I don't remember him being my friend. Now, if you'll excuse me..." he pointed at himself, Sadik and Gupta. "We were on our way." Before he left, though, he leaned near Antonio and whispered in his ear, "You better not touch my sister, you tease..."

Matthias wanted to smile, but at the same time, knew that it would make him look like a complete asshole, and he didn't want to look like that. So instead he coughed and ran a hand through his spiky, blonde tresses. He did feel a little awkward, though; he wasn't a part of any of their lives until just recently, after all.

"Huh? But what if I want to hug her?" Antonio called, looking extremely confused.

Matthias opened his mouth to correct what the Dutchman meant, but decided to keep it shut; it would've showed that he was eavesdropping, and he didn't want Lars to hate him. Instead, he shrugged and Emma sighed, "I'm sorry about Lars..." she apologized to Antonio. "Really, he didn't mean that."

Antonio simply smiled his sunny smile and shook his head, "I know; honestly, I think he's just in a bad mood. Then again though, I wouldn't blame him - if I had a bucket on my head, and I was humiliated like that, I'd be steamed, too."

Emma gave a sigh of relief, "Thank you for understanding, Toni."

The Spaniard shook his head, "There's no need to thank me; friends need to accept each other's faults. Well, I better go; I have to meet someone about something..." Matthias was then surprised to see that the Spaniard's tanned cheeks were dusted scarlet as he nodded and bid them goodbye.

Emma giggled when Antonio left, "I know that expression on Toni's face; it means he's fallen for someone~! And someone quite hard~"

Matthias arched an eyebrow, "Really?"

The Belgian woman nodded; her cat-like smile returning, "Yes."

"Huh..."

The Dane found that his burning resentment towards the Spaniard was progressively becoming less after hearing that single fact.

The day continued, and both Matthias and Emma were having a splendid time together.

They were looking through a few stalls and at the various items there. The Danish man noticed that the Belgian woman was looking at one in particular where they were selling necklaces that had shells of various kinds as trinkets. Noticing her staring fondly at one particular necklace, he then smiled widely as he motioned to a food stall nearby, "Hey, look! They're selling waffles over there! Go check 'em out and give 'em advice! I'll catch up!" he lightly pushed her to the food stall before the Belgian woman could say anything in protest.

Emma was quite surprised when Matthias insisted she go over to the waffle stall nearby, but decided to comply and go along with it. She hoped that whatever he was doing didn't take him too long. She smiled at the children and asked to buy some of their waffles and had a taste of them.

A rather bland texture had spread out over her tongue.

The Belgian woman so badly wanted to spit it out, but seeing the huge, shining eyes of the children who had made and serve it to her, she just didn't have the heart to tell them how the waffles really tasted.

Matthias quickly thanked the ones in charge of the stall as he pocketed his wallet in the back pocket of his trousers. He was feeling even better right now; he was able to make a bargain with the sellers and thus, haggled the price down by about ten percent.

He gripped the small, brown paper bag and took a deep breath, feeling both excited yet nervous as he made his way over to the stall that was selling waffles, only to see that she herself was cooking.

"Hey, what's all this?" Matthias asked good-naturedly.

Emma gave a giggle; the adorable one that made him melt inwardly, as she was adding a variety of ingredients in a mix. From what the Dane could make out, he could see melted butter, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and egg yolks.

"Need some help?" offered Matthias. "I can help if you want."

The Belgian woman simply gave him that warm smile that was as sunny as her golden hair, "No, I'm fine. But if I need it, I'll just ask, okay?"

Matthias nodded, "Okay."

And so, he found himself standing by as he watched Emma do her work on the stall. The ones in charge of the stall, a group of children and two teenagers who appeared to go to Emil's high school, judging by the uniform they were wearing, were watching the Belgian woman interestedly as she worked her magic.

While the batter rested, she beat some egg whites until they formed a rather stiff peak. Matthias could see that the batter was resting very well and he licked his lips; keen on eating the Belgian woman's waffles. Once the batter had finished resting, Emma added the beaten egg whites to the now risen batter, and gently folded the egg whites right into it, her grip quite calculatingly firm, but gentle, her tongue slightly poked out of her mouth as she cooked.

Matthias couldn't help but smile at that expression she made; it was just so adorable.

When that was done, she heated the waffle iron to a medium heat and once after the iron was properly heated, she began pouring the batter into the iron. However, for some reason, Emma found her hands were really shaky.

At first, she wasn't sure just why they were in this trembling state until she looked up to see Matthias' big smile and twinkling baby blues.

Despite having cooked for her whole life, the Belgian woman was becoming surprised that she was more conscious in her cooking and how much this man from Denmark had affected her.

Noticing her hands were quivering, Matthias immediately took action and came closer, coming behind the stall to her side. "Hold on, here…" with a tender grip, he held onto her hands as he assisted with pouring the batter. They poured until the batter just about reached the edge. Once they stopped, Emma closed the lid, and the Dane realised what he did.

"S-sorry!" he said, face now red. "Didn't mean to hold that long!"

Emma laughed; it was funny seeing him so flustered – it was cute. She then inched her hand closer to his and intertwined their fingers as she shook her head, "Who said I didn't love it?"

The Dane's face was the same colour of the poppies he gave her earlier.

After a few minutes or so, the waffle was reading; the rich, crispy aroma reaching Matthias' nose and making him drool. However, he quickly squashed the urge; he didn't want to look like some animal in front of Emma – she'd get disgusted for sure.

When she carefully took the waffle out, she allowed the group in charge of the stall to taste it first, and unsurprisingly, they were amazed and delighted by it.

Emma had poured one more as well for her and Matthias to share. Once it was done, the pair took it after the Belgian woman instructed the group on how to cook waffles properly and ate outside in the bottom oval where there were some activities happening all around them.

When the Dane took a bite of it, he felt like he was suddenly flying up in the clouds; it was slightly crispy on the edges, but the inside was fluffy and rightly moist. He could taste the butter and the cinnamon shining through and all the textures added together were just…_perfect_.

Emma herself was quite satisfied at her creation, but she wanted to know how Matthias was. "So…how is it?" she asked, her usually cheery expression now anxious.

The Danish man chuckled, "Why are you so nervous? It's perfect! So fluffy~"

The Belgian woman laughed at his response and felt a great wave of relief wash over her; she would be devastated if he didn't like her cooking. Cooking was the thing she liked the most about herself, and if the man she liked didn't like her cooking, well…that would just be heartbreaking.

Matthias and Emma engaged in light conversation as they continued sharing the waffle between themselves and soon, there was an empty plastic plate between them.

That mattered not to the pair, though – it simply allowed the pair to converse even more.

It was not until Emma had mentioned a funny story involving Antonio attempting to disguise himself as a pretty girl so Lars would let him eat some of the desserts that he made, which included a number of _limburgse vlaai _(which, Matthias discovered, was a Dutch pie) that the Dutchman was heavily proud of,and the Belgian woman was saying how the Spaniard had borrowed her pearls, when the Dane remembered his the little brown bag he had in his trouser pocket on the side.

When he fished it out, the bag was very crinkly and pretty much, almost crushed. Cursing in furiously quiet Danish, Matthias quickly opened it and almost cried in relief at discovering that its contents were still safe. He smiled, his face dusted with cherry red as he revealed what was in the bag.

"Is that…hey! That's the necklace from the store!" marvelled the Belgian woman, stunned. "You really bought it?"

"For you obviously."

Here, Emma really was at a loss for words; really, this was a very sweet gesture of Matthias to do.

"You like it?" the Dane asked when the Belgian woman accepted the gift from him.

"I _love _it," Emma responded as she immediately wore it since the only piece of jewellery she was wearing were a pair of earrings. She smiled at the single blue gem, which was shaped in a tear that was contained by silver linings, which held it to the chain. "Really, that is so sweet of you…"

"It was nothing!" Matthias gave a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head. "Really…"

"Thank you," and with that, the Belgian woman leaned over and boldly planted a smooch on his cheek in gratitude.

At once, the Danish man could feel his whole body fill up like a shaken soda bottle ready to explode from glee at any minute. He knew that he was blushing; his face was aflame, and there were pleasant shivers running up and down his spine in reaction after her soft lips had contacted his cheek.

Emma found herself blushing as well upon realizing that she was bold again and touched her lips as she gave a small, soft chuckle to herself. She especially giggled upon seeing Matthias' face.

Just when the Dane could string some words together, they were interrupted when a rather familiar Dutchman had come in, a serious glint in his eye.

"O-oh! H-hi there, bro!"

"H-hey, Lars!"

At first, both Matthias and Emma thought that they were royally screwed; thinking that they were both caught by the Dutchman and found out that they were dating. Lars grabbed onto the Dane's arm and glared him in the eye.

"You…"

"W-what?" Matthias gulped, but kept his gaze steady – the man was taller than him, but Matthias was sure he could pin him down if he was determined. And for the Belgian woman beside him, he was _extra _determined.

"You play soccer, right?"

The question caught the Dane off guard. He blinked as he asked, "Wait, what?"

Lars rolled his eyes, "I asked if you play soccer! Do you or not?"

"Oh…" Matthias trailed off, but then a big beam appeared on his face at the mention of the sport. "Yeah! I did when I was back in Denmark!"

"I need your help with something," the Dutchman said, sounding rather urgent. "You can still play, right?"

"Yeah! Of course I can! I play with my nephew a lot!" grinned Matthias, his fear of Lars now fully gone. "What's up?"

"See that Spaniard over there?" Lars stabbed a finger at a Spaniard wearing a matador's outfit, to who Matthias identified as Antonio.

"Yeah."

"I need your help with him."

"Wait, you need me help with him? But to do what to him?"

Lars' pale green eyes were glowing sinisterly, "To _crush _him…"

* * *

_Lars...is just so evil. XD Spain, you certainly attract a lot of tsunderes..._

_Anyway, I think this story will be almost at a close - it'll end at 13 chapters, actually. Or maybe 14 if I change my mind. :)_

_Thoughts and opinions? I hope you have a nice day. :DDD_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	11. Check For Air Bubbles And Be Cautious

_HetaWriter/HetaReader here. Sorry for the long wait...TT_TT_

_Anyway, thank you very much to those who've faved, followed and reviewed! :D_

**_ : _**_Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. :)__  
_

**_pantherluver:_**_ *revives you* me? 0.0 R-really? Actually...Lars' murdering...just read, first...^^;_

**_Madam Platypus: _**_Yes, the Netherlands is evil, isn't he? *w* DenBelg FTW! :D_

**_Karuushixx:_**_ Really? Thank you very much; that's a really big compliment. :) I can't believe I actually was successful in capturing such atmospheres in this story. 8D_

**_alexa: _**_Thanks! :D hell yes! DenBelg needs more love! 8D_

**_Guest:_**_ I'm not sure about SeaWy, I'm not a big fan of it, but we'll see, shall we? ;)_

**_Guest:_**_ I hope your caps lock doesn't die because of me. D: but yes, I'm still updating, it's just going to be an erratic process since I'm quite busy myself with all kinds of commitments and ideas. TTnTT_

**_Guest: _**_Yes, that's what Matthias, Lars and Antonio are going to have, but that one will be put into more detail in the next chapter. ;) I apologize, though - I don't think this chapter is as long as I would've hoped. :(_

**_K-Ojousama:_**_ I quite like the Netherlands myself. :) He's a pretty cool character - I'm glad Himaruya made him more calm rather than world-dominating in his previous profile. XD _

**_Black Emeralds:_**_ Yes! Another DenBelg shipper! 8D one of my OTP's! :D Icy's story isn't expanded here really, because it'll be touched upon in a separate story, which I won't update until I finish this one. The story in question is called "Smoke Catching Fire". You can take a look at it if you want, but be aware that I'm not going to update that until this one's complete. Well, I hate bullies with a passion, so I enjoy writing scenes that humiliate or get them paid back. 8D (I'm a cruel person, I know...TT_TT) ohohoho, don't worry about Spain - he may look innocent, cute and dense, but remember that he was once a conquistador and that his country is always in the top ranks for soccer/football. ;)_

_I do NOT own Hetalia. _

_Shall we continue, then? :) _

* * *

Matthias blinked; his baby blues just as perplexed as the expression on his usually smiling face. "Huh?" he asked, not believing he heard Emma's older brother correctly.

Lars gave an exasperated sigh as he slapped his forehead, rubbing at his temples, "You heard me…will you help me crush that happy-go-lucky idiot over there? You play soccer, right?"

"Yeah, I play soccer," Matthias nodded. "I thought I didn't hear you right."

"No, no, you heard me correctly," said the Dutchman, waving one of his large hands in an impatient and dismissive manner. "So will you help me or not? Emma tells me that you play soccer and apparently, you're good at it, though she's never seen you before." He glanced pointedly at his younger sister, who was chuckling nervously.

Emma had a sinking feeling that Lars would come and interrupt her date with Matthias, but she honestly didn't expect the Dutchman to interrupt it like this.

To be frank, she thought that he and the Dane would be rolling on the ground by now in a rough tussle.

Matthias scratched his head as he turned his gaze around to see that Antonio was balancing and bouncing a soccer ball with his foot, expertly swapping feet every so often and head butting it a few times. There was a group of children who were watching with awestruck faces while there was a gaggle of high school girls who were giving giddy giggles as they fluttered their eyes, twirled their hair and grinned at the Spanish man.

Honestly, the Dane didn't know why, but he felt determined to just…beat him.

Beat the Spaniard in his own game.

So, that was why he instantly whipped around, back to facing Lars, and gave a grin; though this one was more twisted and manic.

Lars arched an eyebrow at the Danish man's sudden expression, but had a feeling he knew what Matthias' answer would be. "So? Made your choice now?" the Dutchman asked as he extended his hand out. "Do we understand each other here?"

"Hell yeah," Matthias said, his bright, blue eyes now blazing with an intense flame. He extended his own hand and took Lars' in a firm grip, shaking it, sealing the deal.

A small, sinister smirk spread out onto Lars' face as he shook his partner's hand, "Good…" he murmured in a low voice; icy, pale green eyes also burning with an equally determined fire.

"Oh, _hola_, Lars!" Antonio beamed warmly, his eyes sparkling in delight as soon as he caught sight of the Dutchman. He tilted his head in confusion at seeing that Lars was with the man that Emma was dating. "_Hola_, _señor _Matthias!"

"Hey," said Matthias, smiling down at the Spaniard. His usually bright and cheerful grin looked rather frightening now; as if there was a sinister, underlying notion underneath it, Emma noticed when she saw her brother and the man she like head over to one of her best friends in high school.

The Belgian woman felt slightly uneasy upon gazing at Lars' eyes and Matthias' expression, but she shook off the latter's case. Matthias was a kind man; he was cheerful and positive.

Nah, that sinister side was just part of her imagination.

"I challenge you, Antonio."

"_Qué_?" Antonio blinked, confused. "You challenge me? Challenge me to what?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Um…no…I don't…"

Lars looked annoyed, "That thing on your foot should be a good indicator."

"On my foot?" Antonio gazed down at his foot to see that the soccer ball was still balanced on his foot. He blinked as he stared down at the soccer ball and his foot.

Matthias crossed his chiselled arms over his built chest as he moved his head to the side, wondering if the Spaniard caught Lars' message. Lars himself placed a hand on his hip as he glared down at Antonio, progressively getting impatient with the lack of a response from his rival. Emma blinked from her spot on the log as she tilted her head to the side, shuffling increasingly closer to see what was going on and what will happen next.

And honestly, she was worried; Lars never had the highest patience with Antonio.

After what seemed like ages, Antonio then scratched his head, fingers combing through his mocha-coloured locks, "Um…"

"Well?"

"_Lo siento_, Lars, _mi amigo_," the Spaniard apologized. "But I still don't get what you mean."

Matthias' eyes widened as he stared at Antonio in disbelief; really? He seriously didn't get it? The Dane knew that he himself wasn't the brightest; it was a subject that Berwald tended to touch upon whenever he and the Swede had disputes or whenever Lukas made his snarky jokes, but seriously; this was a new level of thick-headedness. He turned to look at Emma's brother, and actually, legitimately, became frightened upon seeing the Dutchman's expression.

Lars' face itself became blank, however it was plain to see that his eyes were telling a far more different story. The flame intensified, which Emma didn't think was even possible; but it exemplified that hateful and sinister aura that was surrounding his tall, towering being.

Honestly, if looks could kill…

Antonio however, didn't seem to realize that the Dutchman looked like he was ready to throw him at any second now, and instead, gave a good-natured laugh as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I don't know what you mean there – my shoe? Did something happen between us and a shoe? I don't remember that ever happening…"

"You damn son of a…!"

"He meant – will you play a two-team soccer game with us?" Matthias cut in before Lars could break past his tolerating point. Though the Dane would be amused and gleeful at seeing the Dutchman unleash his temper on the Spaniard, he had a bad feeling that Antonio would end up either in a full-body cast in a hospital bed, or underground, and as a result, Emma would cry from that.

Which would be a disastrous end to their date.

"Soccer?" Antonio blinked, arching an eyebrow. He then looked at the checked ball and then snapped his fingers, "_Ohh_~! So that's what you meant, Lars! Well, why didn't you say so?" he beamed that warm, sunny smile of his again. "Of course! I'd love to have a soccer game with you and your sister's boyfriend~! Let me go and find a partner, first, okay?"

Matthias felt pleasantly embarrassed at being called Emma's boyfriend, but remembered that the Dutchman was nearby. When Antonio began bounding away to look for a partner, the Dane slowly looked to his left to see that Lars looked extremely confused.

''Your sister's boyfriend'…? _The hell does he mean by that?' _wondered the disgruntled Dutchman. '_The handyman's just next to me…'_

At first, Lars simply thought that Antonio was just being his stupid, nonsensical self that was usually gone with the tomato fairies, but upon remembering who was next to him, the Dutchman then felt his mind go on a blank for a moment. Suddenly, it was as if something had clicked in his brain and a hammer strike his head soon after for his ignorance and stupidity upon not realizing it before.

It made so much sense now.

All the sweets she was making, requesting him to get red boxes and white ribbons when he had his job in the city, all those times that he was fixing the bakery, why they were even together today…

Matthias liked Emma.

His little sister was dating the handyman.

They were together.

Lars didn't know which emotion he should feel at the moment; it was a great mix of feelings erupting his very being. He was pissed off, humiliated, pissed off, dumbfounded, pissed off, confused, pissed off, and…over-protective.

He was humiliated at the fact that he had let one guy go under his radar so easily and reach his sister; now that he looked back, it was just so obvious! He was dumbfounded at the fact that he made that one mistake, as well as the fact that his sister was already on a date with someone she didn't know much about – Matthias only stared work a fortnight ago! They've only known each other for _two weeks_. Confusion was from the fact that Emma would jump into a relationship like that.

Lars was definitely pissed off, though.

Matthias didn't know what to say at this point; it was clear to see that Lars was _not _happy at discovering that he was on a date with his little sister. Before he could say something, though, the Dutchman cut in, "Are you?"

"Uhh…?"

"Are you my sister's boyfriend?" Lars asked. His voice was deathly quiet, and the calm tone only created a cold knife, which could easily cut the now tense air. "Are you Emma's boyfriend?"

"Um…" Matthias scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do here; seriously, what the hell do you say to the older brother of the gorgeous girl you're dating who looks ready to rip your throat out at any minute? _With his bare hands_?

Lars did after all quit from a job at a butcher's.

The Dane was still wracking his brain to try and find a proper response to the Dutchman, when Emma came over.

The Belgian woman had overheard the conversation from Matthias telling Antonio that he and Lars wanted to challenge the Spaniard in a two-on-two soccer game. Naturally, she also heard Antonio call Matthias her boyfriend, which isn't exactly true, but she knew she wanted him to very well be that.

"Brother…"

"Emma," Lars turned his glowering gaze onto her. "Is what that tool said true? You and this idiot are dating?"

Matthias' fear was beginning to bubble away, and it was soon replaced with bristling anger when he heard the Dutchman call him an idiot. Sure, he wasn't the brightest, but that was just plain mean. Again, before he could say something, Emma chose to speak before he could make things potentially worse.

"Well, technically, this is our first date," Emma said, keeping her voice and composure calm. "But…"

"But?" that single word sounded like a sharp bite.

"But we're going to possibly date many more times after this one," said the Belgian woman firmly. "I like him, bro. I like him a lot, and we're having a lovely time today."

"You like him?" Lars' jaw clenched as his pale green eyes narrowed dangerously into menacing slits. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Emma didn't know where she was finding the confidence and the balls to stand up to her brother, but before she knew it, she was just talking to him with that determined and firm tone, her green eyes were also blazing with a stubborn flame that would not be put out so easily. "I like him _a lot_, Lars. And he likes me, too." She then turned to Matthias, "Right?"

"Definitely!" Matthias forgot Lars for a moment as his face spread out into a wide grin. Something in him soared upon her words He took his hand in hers and their fingers intertwined. "I wanna have many more dates with you, too!"

Emma beamed radiantly at the Dane's words, returning his lovely smile, when Lars gave a snort, signalling that he was still there. The Dane and his Belgian lady gazed at the Dutchman, anticipating what he was going to do next, when luckily for them, someone came in.

"Hey! I found someone to play with me!" Antonio said, looking excited. "Let's do it! Ready, _Arturo_?"

Matthias saw that with Antonio, there was a shorter man with paler skin (though not as pale as Matthias or his Nordic kinsfolk), yellow blonde hair that was rather messy, dark green eyes, and the biggest pair of eyebrows that the Dane had ever seen.

Seriously, had it not been for Matthias squinting his eyes and looking more carefully at the other man, the Dane would've thought that those things were fuzzy caterpillars that somehow stuck to the man's face.

"I'm here, Anthony," the bushy-browed blonde said in a very distinct British accent. He looked rather annoyed, "Let's just get started, already…"

"_Si_! Come on! Let's go!" Antonio immediately ran to the bottom oval's grassy, green field with the man _'Arturo'_ trudging after him, taking his time.

Matthias quirked an eyebrow upon seeing that Antonio was still clad in his matador outfit and the pants were quite…tight on the Spaniard. It properly defined Antonio's posterior very well.

Which no doubt, was a great turn-on with the gaggle of giddy, giggly girls nearby.

"You…"

Matthias blinked and remembered that Lars was still there. And he still looked far from pleased. Again, before the Dane could say anything in his and Emma's defence, he was beaten to it.

This time, by the guy he was supposed to defend himself and the Belgian from.

"Get your ass on the field," grumbled Lars, voice low and in a commanding, no-nonsensical tone. "I'll deal with you later."

Exchanging a glance with Emma, who looked more worried, Matthias had to let go of her soft, petite hand and step onto the field where Antonio placed the soccer ball down in the middle and beamed brightly at his opponents while the Spaniard's companion looked more serious, yet bored.

"So, what are the conditions, Lars?" chirped Antonio, hands now on his hips. "Name your conditions! You challenged me after all!"

"First to five points," Lars said. "No set goalkeeper. Both members are permitted to run around the field freely. That's all."

Here, Antonio gave a tinkling laugh, "Just like old times, huh, Lars, _mi amigo_?"

"Just shut up and focus on the game."

Matthias could see from his point that Antonio didn't seem unfazed at all with the Dutchman's harsh, brazen words, and the Spaniard's British partner didn't seem to be bothered by Lars' words, either. The Brit looked much more annoyed and seemed to have an expression that told everyone that he would rather be someplace else than here.

Still, though Lars seemed rather pissed off at Matthias, the Dutchman knew that this was a battle he can't do alone. Especially when facing with a man who was the captain of the soccer team back in high school, and who came from a country that was practically _nuts _about soccer if not eating tomatoes and churros all day and night.

So, despite the fact that Lars wanted to punch Matthias in the throat right now, the Dutchman swallowed his pride, decided to snap at the Dane and his sister later, and focused on the Spaniard who was eagerly waiting for one of the children nearby to blow their whistle, signalling that it was time to move.

The Dane himself was trying to place all his focus on the whistle's signal; giving a beam at the Belgian woman to show that he was still feeling great despite the fact that her brother wanted to most likely throttle him. Emma gave a smile back as she waved at him.

This made Matthias even more determined to beat the Spaniard and the Brit. Really, he wanted to show off his skills right now to impress the woman he liked. It sounded a bit egotistical when he thought about it again, but screw that fact: he wanted to prove something here.

However, the Dane wasn't quite sure what that something was.

He crouched slightly, ready to run forward and take the ball for himself and Lars, or to steal it off of one of the shorter men, should they get the thing first.

It was obvious to see that both teams of two men were getting their focus on, anticipating for that whistle to cry. There was glaring, but more importantly, flames were filling up in everyone's eyes, ready to fight tooth and nail for that ball that was smacked right in the centre of the green field as a cool breeze picked up, going along well with the clear, sunny day.

A loud shriek from the whistle then shattered the tense air, and from that, before Lars could even get the ball, he saw a pale blonde blur shoot past him in a maddened, frenzied dash.

Matthias was running as fast as his legs could go to get the ball; the blood coursing through his veins and into his thighs and down his legs as he shot forward.

Antonio was also running forward in an alarming speed. His usually friendly expression with the friendly, sunny smile was now gone, and it was replaced with a much more serious one; his green eyes were blazing and for the first time Matthias had ever seen - there was a serious look on the Spaniard's face.

Because Matthias wasn't used to seeing Antonio with such an expression, he faltered a bit in his dash, and as a result, Antonio took advantage of that and was able to capture the ball; kicking it forward and manoeuvring it around the Dane's legs as he ran forward with his British partner jogging behind.

"What the hell-?!" Matthias gaped as he looked down and between his legs, seeing an upside-down Antonio run forward with the soccer ball.

Lars' eyes popped out from his sockets as he ran back to his goal, cursing in rapid Dutch. Did he seriously have to be the one to pull all the weight here? Was that Dane bullshitting him, or was his sister that naive in believing that the said Dane actually had any skills in this game.

However, he ate those words when Matthias ran forward again, speed not breaking as his eyes this time focused solely at the ball and only the ball. The Dane recalled doing this whenever he had a game back in high school in Copenhagen: you keep your eye on the ball while another teammate scouts the field. That way, nothing distracts you.

Of course, it helped that Matthias was far from being a stick, and he towered over all of his classmates back then as well, save for one Russian kid that had a big nose.

Matthias was able to catch up to Antonio, much to the Spaniard's surprise. The Dane then stamped his feet around to try and kick the ball away or to gain it back. Antonio himself was using swift movements with his feet, handling the ball with ease as he tried to get away from the Dane, but soon, he found that that task was impossible - Matthias was on him like a leech sucking blood.

This was what caused Antonio to call, "_Arturo_! Here!" and kick the ball in his British partner's direction.

The Brit had caught the ball with the side of his foot and ran forward, only to slam right into Lars' hard chest. The Dutchman was looming menacingly over the Antonio's partner as he quickly stole the ball off of him. However, Arthur did try to get the ball back, but in vain.

Lars himself was good at handling the ball, he simply kicked it up a few times, swiftly switched feet there every so often, then when the Brit was red in frustration and now using colourful language that made a lot of the bystanders either laugh or flinch, Lars kicked the ball high up and made it fly over the British man's form, simply running after it to take it to the goal.

"Bloody scarf-wearing wanker!" screamed the angry Brit in frustration.

Matthias could only laugh as he ran forward to help his Dutch partner in any way that he can.

The game was far from over, after all.

* * *

_More of the game will be expanded on in the next chapter. But yes, Antonio's partner is a no-brainer, but it's also a bit of a reference to __"A Piece of Me"__. _

_Who will win the soccer match? Will Antonio survive the reign of two spiky-headed European blondes and keep his crown as the king of the game? Will he survive Lars' throttling? And most importantly, will Matthias?_

_Thoughts and opinions? Have a nice day. ;)_

_Sincerely,  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


	12. Decorate With Icing

_Greetings to you all, HetaWriter/HetaReader here. :)_

_I thank all of those who've faved, followed and especially reviewed! :D I'm actually ecstatic; you know why? This story has reached 40 reviews! 8D Thank you very much all of you who have done so! Really, it means so much that you'd actually take some time off to put your input on my pieces. I truly appreciate that; it helps me grow as a writer, and know what and what not to do next time I write things. :)_

**_NordicFlags: _**_Yes, I'm alive, don't worry. XD (ah, I see. Cool name. ;D) well, for this story, I'm not sure when to update the next chapter, because I have another story that's up and running, and that one is gaining my attention. XD don't worry - Matthias isn't going to die. *hides behind chibi!Lithuania's shield*_

**_Black Emeralds: _**_I quite like all of the Hetalia girls (as well as Nyotalia). :D I like how Belgium's so positive and mature, yet has that bit of spunk in her - it's adorable. DenBelg is my favourite pairing for the both of them (and honestly, she's the only girl I can ever envision Denmark being paired with). Haha, I portrayed the Netherlands to have a bit of a siscon (though I'm not really that sure if he actually has that; it is implied, though). Just read on about the game. ;)_

**_Madam Platypus:_**_ Thank you very much! =^^= DenBelg FTW! SwitzBelg, huh? Sounds sweet (no pun intended XD). Ah, really? That's a real compliment, I thank you again. :) I'm not going to do the SeaWy in the end. Who do I pair Wy with? I pair her with TRNC. :D_

**_The Red Scarf:_**_ Thanks! 8) oh, really? You're from Belgium? That's awesome! :D yes, that's correct, don't worry, you're good. ;D don't worry - though I get writer's block plenty of times, I always overcome it somehow. XD_

_Anyway, shall we dance? Err...play on the field? XD_

* * *

Lars and Matthias continued running, knocking the ball before them, and passing it to each other several times. Antonio's emerald orbs widened upon seeing the two, spiky-haired blondes share the ball between them as they ran towards his and Arthur's goal. Something needed to be done about that.

Matthias could feel the sweat drip from the sides of his head as he kept his gaze solely onto the ball. He panted heavily, pumping his arms as his legs circulated motion – the blood running through his veins, forcing him to continue onward.

His Dutch partner was panting as well, the two ends of his scarf billowing behind him like a wave in the breeze. Lars glanced at Matthias and saw a great spark of determination light up in those baby blues. The Dane's face was already getting red due to the mix of both being in the sun where his pale skin was mercilessly exposed, and because he was using a lot of his energy here.

Seems like he was giving it one hundred and ten percent.

Antonio quickly motioned at Arthur to run to the goals while the Spaniard himself ran towards the two blondes to try and possibly intercept from the both of them. However, it proved to be rather difficult as Matthias proved to be far from a pushover.

Much to Antonio's growing unease, the Dane's first blunder was from being taken aback at Antonio's great speed and skill, or just simply underestimating him. It turned out however that Matthias himself was quite good – he didn't know any tricks like Antonio and Lars did, however he made up for it by keeping up with Lars, and simply refusing to get off his target once his eyes were set on the ball.

Lars could see from the corner of his pale green eyes that Antonio was trying to catch up to them. This caused the Dutchman to shout, "Here! At me!"

Matthias complied by kicking the ball in his direction. Lars had used his firm chest as a wall, resulting with the ball dropping to his feet, prompting him to kick the ball onward with ease.

Noticing the danger, Antonio immediately shouted at his partner a warning. The bushy-browed Brit stared, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets when he saw them coming and Antonio was having difficulties.

The Spaniard ran straight at Lars, determined to stop him, however Matthias, when he looked up to gaze at his partner, saw that the Dutchman's expression was fierce. His pale green eyes were blazing with a determined inferno as he glared back at Antonio.

Then he shoved him out of the way with his body by ramming him.

Antonio gave a yelp at Lars since the Dutchman was much taller and had a brawnier build than him. The Spaniard was able to grab onto something to balance himself.

The unfortunate news was that that something Antonio grabbed to prevent him from falling over was one end of Lars' scarf.

"What the hell?!" Lars yelled as he was immediately brought back, but not after having his foot fly due to a fast reflex, applying a powerful kick to the soccer ball – knocking it forward.

Arthur simply stood in his place as he caught the ball in his arms, though he was knocked back a little bit from the force. "Good lord…" the Brit huffed as he wiped at his brow in relief.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" demanded Lars when he saw that now Antonio was clinging onto his scarf. "Seriously, get off!"

"But Lars~" Antonio then rubbed his cheek on Lars' scarf. "Your scarf's still so nice and silky~ after all those years, too!"

Hearing that made Matthias tempted to actually touch and grab hold of the Dutchman's accessory, as well – his curiosity now brimming. However the Dane couldn't help but have that nagging, growing feeling that Lars would slap him far worse than any of those women did in the soaps that Berwald watched when he had a day off if he attempted to.

Lars' eyes were narrowed as he turned around and grabbed Antonio's shoulder, glaring at him head on. "I said…_get off_," he glowered, before pushing him.

Antonio pouted, "Why are you so mean, Lars?"

Before the Dutchman could respond, Arthur called, "Could we get on with the bloody game, _please_?"

"Oh! Oh, yeah! _Lo siento_, _Arturo_!" Antonio waved at him as he ran past Lars. "I'm here and open!"

"Shit!" Lars swore when Arthur chucked the ball at Antonio, who then ran off with it and towards _their _goal.

Matthias scrambled on his legs as he tried to keep up with the Spaniard, but it seemed that Antonio was determined to win, thus fuelling his fire to run forward in a blaze. The Dane's tongue then hang out from his mouth as he panted while he ran.

Lars then tried to overtake Antonio to reach the goals and attempt to block him, however it looked like Antonio was just getting faster.

Matthias panted, trying to catch his breath when he saw Lars, as a last desperate call, had tried to slide over and prevent Antonio from scoring.

There was grass and clumps of dirt flying upwards as Lars stretched his leg out to try and stop Antonio. Lars' own face was contorted in a wince, as his back was awkwardly positioned to try and get in line with his body.

Also from not doing this move for the last seven years or so.

However, it seemed that Antonio expected this move from the Dutchman, so he simply kicked the soccer ball up and jumped over Lars' sprawled out leg. With nobody at the goal, the Spaniard kicked it past, thus earning a score of one.

Matthias groaned as he ran up to his Dutch partner while said Dutch partner swore in angry Dutch. However, whether it was from anger and frustration or the pain from a sudden desperate slide on grass and dirt, Matthias did not know.

But what he did know was that Lars looked upset right now.

"Hey, don't worry!" Matthias piped up as he offered his large hand. "We'll catch up!"

Lars heaved a heavy, exasperated sigh as he stared at the Dane's hand. After a few moments of contemplating, the Dutchman took it, and hoisted himself up, inwardly wincing at the sore jolts that shot up at the side of his right calf. When he was finally on his feet, he instantly let go of Matthias' hand and hobbled off to the centre of the field again for round two and to try and regain back his sense of pride.

Matthias noticed though that Lars was limping on his right leg, probably injuring himself from that slide. The Dane then spoke up, "Hey, your leg…"

Lars glared at Matthias from the corners of his narrowed eyes, "What about my leg?"

The Dane could feel shivers run down his spine at how cold Lars' response was. "You're limping," he said.

"That's your imagination," Lars hissed back. "We have a game to win – now focus."

Matthias didn't bother to say anything anymore; he frowned at Lars' direction, but decided not to say anything about it anymore. He really didn't want to be at the receiving end of Lars' temper right now – the Dane would rather have Lars blow up at Antonio, or at least vent all of his temper out on the Spaniard right now.

"Ready, Lars?" Antonio beamed that sunny smile that really irritated Matthias to no end now. "Ready Matthias?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Lars snorted. "Just do it already…we're not getting any younger."

Antonio nodded and kicked the ball forward, dashing past the two blonde men again. Matthias chose that time to stick on him again and attempt to take the ball off of him. The Spaniard was again faced with a Danish leech on his feet as Matthias refused to falter away from him. Even with all of the tricks and fancy footwork he used in trying to keep the ball away from Matthias and progressing on, doing both at the same time proved to be difficult just because of Matthias' persistence.

Lars took that time as an advantage to catch up on his busted leg. He snuck up behind Antonio while Matthias kept him busy, and stole the ball off of him. He cursed though at how heavy his right leg felt right then – it was like a dead weight of lead, making it harder for him to run and handle the ball or do any tricks.

'_Damn…'_ the Dutchman thought to himself. _'Haven't played for how long…am I getting old, or am I getting unfit?'_

Matthias however chose that time to run up to Lars' side and fended off Antonio by blocking him off with his whole body, choosing to shift his attention from the checked ball to the speedy Spaniard.

Arthur had run off to his goal to stop Lars from scoring. However, despite how injured Lars' leg was (the limp was pretty noticeable and the Dutchman's running was much slower than before), he was able to kick the soccer ball with a reasonable amount of strength, causing it to fling through the air.

Arthur didn't expect the ball to fly right at his face.

It smashed against his forehead, causing it to fly back at Lars. While the Brit was rubbing his now reddened forehead where the ball had struck, the Dutchman simply leaned his spiky head forward so the ball whacked against it.

The head butt from the Dutchman caused the soccer ball to fly through the goal.

Matthias gave a loud bout of whooping while Antonio wiped at his head, panting. He ran up to the British man to see if he was okay, while the Dane went up to his partner. "Nice one!" Matthias grinned. "We got one!"

Lars ran a hand through his spiky hair and gave a half-hearted shrug, "Don't let down your guard, though…still far from over…"

They turned around after reaching the centre of the field, waiting for their opponents to join them, when they noticed that Arthur was clutching at his head while Antonio was trying to peek underneath his hand.

Matthias could see upon closer inspection that there was already a bruise starting to form on Arthur's head. The British man was in a furious conversation with Antonio, too. The Dane strained his ears to try and listen more closely at how their chatter was going along, curiosity still filled up.

"In case your thick head didn't notice; a soccer ball _smashed _into my forehead and now I'm getting a _sodding _bruise!"

"Lars hit the ball with his head, too!"

"He's wounded, too!"

Lars shouted, "I'm still running. Not get your asses over here already and quit making us wait."

Because they scored a goal that time, Lars and Matthias started out. Lars kicked the ball to the Dane, and Mathias darted forward keeping his eye on the ball again. The Dane could feel a body catch up to him from his left, and decided to force his legs to pump more blood through his veins despite how hot his whole body was becoming right then. The sweat was now flowing from the sides of his head.

There was _no _way that Antonio was going to dupe him again.

Lars panted as he attempted to catch up to his Danish partner, but his right leg was feeling worse; the spikes of pain prickling and stabbing him. The Dutchman was seething, however he felt someone dash past him and run towards Matthias in hot pursuit.

The Dutchman's jaw dropped when he saw that Antonio was gaining on Matthias, looking equally determined to regain the ball and to score again.

Throughout the whole game, Emma was watching in anticipation and excitement upon seeing her brother and the man she had feelings for against her one of her closest friends and an old high school classmate. She grew even more worried upon seeing her brother do that sliding trick he did – she honestly did not know that he could still even use that move. She became alarmed upon seeing him limp, but when she shouted for him, her voice was drowned out by the rest of the spectators, who were now gathering by the many to watch the four men.

Besides, Lars wouldn't listen to her, here. This wasn't the first time he was playing on an injured leg.

However, this _was _the first time he was playing on one as an adult.

Lars licked his lips upon seeing that Matthias was now having problems when Antonio caught up with him. The Spaniard not only blocked him, but was trying to regain the checked ball with his fancy footwork. Matthias kept his eyes solely focused on the ball and had barged Antonio a few times with his shoulder, his back facing to him as he tried to get the soccer ball away, but Antonio was determined not to let go of him.

The Dutchman cursed as he took a deep breath and burst forward like a bullet. He kept his focus only on Matthias, the ball, and the goals. So there was one blind spot he aimed at the most for the Dane to pass to him and score.

"Hey! I'm open!" Lars called as he waved his arm.

Matthias immediately kicked the ball in direction to where the Dutchman's voice was coming from.

Lars used that time to lift up his hurt right leg to catch the ball as he kept going towards the goal. Arthur looked really reluctant to run up to the racing Dutchman, but upon Antonio's calling and insistence that he would help him, the Brit ran forward.

The game went on just as intensely. Both Lars and Antonio weren't keen on giving up – Matthias also didn't want to throw in the towel, and played accordingly; he did what he wanted when he had the ball in his control, but when Lars was nearby calling for him, he would pass it to him. Likewise, Antonio handled the ball the most in his team, but passed it to Arthur whenever the Brit was nearby, or if the Spaniard had problems with either of the two, spiky-headed blondes.

Poor Arthur meanwhile didn't look very eager to continue playing the game, and bad luck seemed to fall upon him.

He was hit on the head so many times that Matthias lost count, and honestly, the Dane was surprised that the Brit's skull didn't get bashed in from the force of the ball that was applied by the Dutchman who kicked it. However, though Lars actually meant to hit Arthur on the head with the ball, Matthias wasn't sure (even though the Dutchman had apologized after someone goaled).

However, things took a turn for the worse at the very climax of the match. Both teams had four points each, and everyone had sweat dripping from their faces, and felt the sun's once gentle rays now beat harshly down on their bodies.

Lars leaned down a bit, rubbing at his right calf, feeling pain split at the back of his thigh when he tried to flex or extend his leg. Matthias looked down at the Dutchman, worried. He then leaned down, too as Lars carefully pulled his trousers leg up to inspect just how badly he busted his leg while cursing himself.

Matthias flinched upon seeing that Lars right calf was marred with a big, ugly purple splotch with pale yellow splashed around it. The Dutchman himself grit his teeth at the bruise, but gave a sigh as he pulled the pants leg back down.

Unfortunately, someone else saw that.

"Bro, you hurt yourself, didn't you?" Emma put a hand on her hip as she glanced down at her older brother.

"I'm fine," was Lars' blunt reply.

Emma heaved a heavy sigh as she shook her head, "Bro…you always pushed yourself back in high school. But remember; you haven't played soccer for a while, now. Today would be the first time in what? Several years? You shouldn't push yourself now – it'll just hurt you, and I don't like seeing my big brother hurt."

Lars didn't look at her. He simply fixated his gaze down on his bruised calf, wincing slightly when he tried to flex his leg – it seemed to be getting worse.

Matthias tilted his head, "Pulled hamstring?"

Lars tried to move his leg again, this time, a sharp knife cut through his leg as he attempted to move it. The Dutchman seethed as he sighed in exasperation, "Not sure, but it seems like it…"

"Well, you'd still need an ice pack, I think," responded Matthias. "I've had my fair shares of pulled muscles and broken bones."

Emma nodded in agreement, but before she or the two blondes could do anything, someone else already had an icepack at the ready. The three blondes turned to face the generous giver.

"Are you alright there, Lars?" Antonio asked, his face contorted with worry as he leaned down.

Lars snorted, glaring venomously at the Spaniard, "I was until your face showed up."

Matthias could see a shiver run down Antonio's body, but the Spaniard didn't respond. Instead, he reached one of his hands out towards Lars' leg and tried to pull his trouser leg up. The Dutchman however grabbed Antonio's wrist before he could do so.

"I can do it myself."

Antonio nodded as Lars leaned carefully forward so that his arms could reach over, and prudently pulled the pants leg up, revealing his bruise.

For a moment, Matthias thought that Antonio had a heart attack; the Spaniard yelped in shock when he caught sight of it, and soon after, began fretting and cooing over the fallen Dutchman. To say that Lars was annoyed was an understatement.

Judging from his darkened face, he looked downright _murderous_.

"_Ay Dios mio_! Why didn't you say that there was something wrong with your leg!" cried Antonio as he touched Lars' leg and moved it slightly, prompting a shriek to escape from the Dutchman's lips. "O-Oh! _Lo siento_! I mean! I'm sorry, _mi amigo_! I didn't mean to do that!"

Antonio pressed the ice pack on Lars' leg in order to help reduce the horrid swelling. Lars opened his mouth to protest, but as his eyes narrowed in the Spaniard's direction, much to Matthias' surprise, the Dutchman slowly closed it and let Antonio tend to his wounded leg.

"You always pushed yourself like this," the Spaniard murmured as he continued gently pressing the icepack on Lars' leg. "Even when you twisted your ankle on the final game…you insisted on running forward and kept on playing. I always admired that trait about you, _mi amigo_…"

"What?" Lars snorted. "That I'm too stubborn to realize my own limits?"

Antonio gave a light chuckle as he shook his head, "No. That you don't give up."

Lars said nothing.

Emma could only step back and watch with Matthias by her side. The Belgian woman was understandably worried about her older brother for what he did, but she was glad that Antonio had an icepack on him, though admittedly, she thought that her brother would slap the Spaniard here.

She was shocked that Lars let him tend to his wound. But honestly, she was glad that

Matthias was just as shocked, but decided not to say anything, and felt something brush against his hand. Looking down to what it was, he saw that it was Emma's hand. When he glanced at her, the Belgian woman was looking embarrassedly at the ground, yet there was a very soft smile that was spreading out onto her face.

The Dane complied by wrapping his hand around hers, though admittedly, he felt his face heat up, but he couldn't help the big grin spreading out across his face.

Emma turned to look at him with an endearing gaze, however her face then contorted to confusion as she blinked at him. Her green eyes were perplexed.

Matthias' smile immediately faltered upon her expression. "What?" he asked, using all of his strength to prevent his voice from cracking. "What's wrong?"

Emma stretched a hand out towards his face, causing Matthias' heart to skip a beat, and his baby blues to widen at the gesture. There was a knot that twisted over in his stomach as her hand inched closer to his cheek.

However, when she touched his cheek, the Dane flinched.

Antonio's head flew up, "What? What's wrong?"

It took Matthias a while to realize that he actually gave a _squeak_ from getting touched. The Dane wanted to desperately evaporate from the spot just by giving such an unmanly sound in front of Emma, her brother and a flashy Spaniard, but it was then that Matthias realized how much his face and arms were hurting at that moment – he felt like he was burning and a bit…tight.

He honestly did not know what was wrong with him until Emma gave a gasp.

"You're sunburnt!"

Matthias' brain took a while to process that bout of information, but upon realizing this, he _really _wanted to go crawl under a rock and hide as he saw that his arms took a hue of pinkish red and he could already detect a blister starting to form near his left hand.

When Matthias came indoors, his heart stopped upon gazing at his reflection that one of the clothes stalls offered him.

He was utterly _horrified _at seeing that his once pale face was now a sore pink. He reached up his hand to touch his cheek, but cringed at how sore his face felt. His body now ached; particularly his arms and his face; when he tried to move an arm, especially the left one, it felt as if something was pulling at ends of it forcefully.

Even smiling was a difficult feat with a sunburnt face.

The only plus side to this was that Emma was tending to him. It was lucky that one stall was selling some aloe vera lotion nearby. The Belgian woman was tenderly applying it to his sunburnt spots particularly the blister near his left hand. She was using the pads of her fingers as she applied the lotion

Emma was quite shocked upon seeing Matthias getting sunburnt, but then again, he had said he was from Denmark – that country was located in northern Europe where it was mainly cold and filled with harsh, frosty weather. She reasoned that he wasn't used to being so openly exposed to the sun. Plus, he was very pale before, though not to the point where it was pasty.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked worriedly as she simply left the aloe vera to be a bit gloppy and moist on top of his burn. Doing so would help prevent his skin from drying out and becoming more irritated.

Matthias hissed a little, but nodded, "Y-yeah…damn…didn't expect that to happen…"

Emma gave a small chuckle, "I guess we both forgot that having pale skin means getting more easily burnt."

The Dane laughed, but stopped shortly; it even hurt to do so. While watching her tend to him, he couldn't help but feel bad – really, it was stupid of him to play out in the sun without protection. Judging from how Lars was still fairly pale, and just slightly pink, he probably wore sunscreen earlier that day. Arthur was pink-faced, too, but he was far from Matthias' condition.

Antonio meanwhile was pretty tan, and he didn't look at all bothered from the sunlight.

'_Probably because he's used to it…' _Matthias thought to himself. _'Spain's the sunny country, according to Norge…'_ he then noticed that the Belgian woman was humming a soft, cheerful song. And now, he felt a little worse from a stupid blunder. Sure, she was tending to him and he quite liked the attention she was giving him now, but he still can't help but feel like he was a complete idiot for forgetting that. "Sorry…" he said.

"Hmm?" she looked at him, confused.

"Getting sunburnt," he explained. "It was really stupid."

Much to his surprise, Emma laughed, "It's not. I think I would've done the same thing if I was so passionate in something. Besides," here, her cheeks were tinged with a slight scarlet, however her cat-like smile was still there. "I don't mind taking care of you. In fact, I quite like it."

Hearing this, Matthias knew that his face would become an even worse shade. Something bloomed inside of him upon hearing that, but at the same time, he felt embarrassed; _he_ should be the one taking care of her.

Emma seemed to know that he was thinking of those degrading thoughts, which made her simply smile and say, "And don't worry. It's just this one time; anyone could've made that mistake."

Matthias shut his mouth and decided to just let things flow for now. Really, things were perfect at that moment; the woman he loved (he still wasn't sure if he should be calling her his girlfriend yet, would she be okay with that?) was tending at his wounds and paying him extra attention. Seriously, what more could he want right now?

It seemed nothing could interrupt this lovely moment.

"Your face is sunburnt."

Scratch that.

Matthias slowly turned his head around to see that Lars was leaning on a crutch and on Antonio. The Dutchman was simply staring at him with a blank expression, however there was an amused spark in those usually ice, pale green eyes. Antonio meanwhile, had that same cheerful, air-headed expression that Matthias was all too familiar with.

The Dane snorted, "Yeah? Well, no shit…"

"You look like a tomato~!" squealed Antonio excitedly. "One that's about to be ripe!"

"A…" Matthias blinked, unsure if he heard right. "A…what?"

Lars chose to speak up before Antonio could say anything stupid or insensitive, "Hurt like hell?"

Matthias blinked and focused his attention this time on Lars, "Yeah…"

Lars pointed at his calf, "This, too."

Emma honestly felt that things were really awkward between her and Matthias with their brother in the mix. Antonio was simply smiling there, looking inexplicably happy for some reason. The Belgian woman was somewhat curious as to what was causing the Spaniard to be even more chipper than usual, but decided to just save it for another time; right now, Matthias needed her more.

"You should be drinking some water, too," Lars remarked as Antonio helped him to the bench where Matthias was sitting on. "Sunburns can get really dehydrating."

Emma questioned, "Are you thirsty, Matthias? Why didn't you say so? I'll go get you some water."

The Dane honestly didn't want Emma to leave him alone with her brother, but since Antonio was there, things couldn't go that bad.

Or can it? Lars had, on many occasions, shown that he wanted to throw or slap Antonio a few times. But then again, the Dutchman never went through with it. But wait, Matthias had interrupted him before he could even do it. Then again, Antonio had helped Lars, so would he really beat him up? Though that saying so, Lars had some sort of long resentment towards the Spaniard…

"Oh, I'll have to go for now," Antonio said as he stood up from his spot and turning off his phone. "They need me somewhere. Don't worry, I'll come back, okay, _mi amigo_?"

"Take your time," Lars responded. "I really don't care…"

Antonio gave a pout, "You don't have to be so mean, Lars! I helped you, after all!"

Lars simply snorted as the Spaniard left them, that skip coming back into his happy steps. Choosing that time, he then placed his focus onto Matthias. "My sister…is really into you…" he muttered as he watched Emma buy some water at a vending machine with money from her own purse.

Matthias now felt _really _bad upon seeing her use up her own money on him. "I'll pay her back, don't worry," he responded.

The Dutchman shook his head, "And you're…into her, am I right?"

Matthias honestly wasn't sure what Lars was playing at here, but he knew that this was where he had to tread carefully. Sure, the Dane was thick-headed, but he wasn't thick-headed enough to not see that there was a spitting Dutchman who had some sort of sister complex and some issues with Spaniards that had _voluptuous _assets.

Here, Matthias finally responded, finding the courage and determination to give an honest answer.

"Yeah, I'm really into her. So much that she's always the thing that's on my mind, and I wonder about her every day like _'Is she doing okay?' _or _'I wonder if she needs any help?' _to stuff that's like _'I hope she's smiling with whatever she's doing.'_. Not sure if it's love or not, but…I can't just ignore these feelings – they've seriously gotten me in a deadlock. I want to know where it'll lead to, and if there's a chance that maybe…just maybe…she's the ones for me."

"Say that I tell you that you can't see my sister anymore. What would you do then?"

Matthias paused again as he looked down, trying to sum up words together and provide a correct response while at the same time, be completely honest. After a moment of hard thinking, he was able to come up with another answer.

"Well, I would tell you that I still love your sister, anyway, and that though you'll try to keep me away – I'm just going to come back. You can do whatever the hell you want to me; punch me, slap me, kick me in the vital regions and even spit at me. I'll _still _come back until your sister herself gets tired of me. _Then_, I'll leave you for good."

"What exactly do you like about my sister? Why are you so attracted to her?"

Here, Matthias snapped his head at the Dutchman's direction, not caring that there was a nasty pain that rippled on his chin from the sunburn. His usually warm baby blues now taking a frosty shade from a burning flame residing within. This time, he responded after only after a shorter amount of time compared to his previous two answers.

"What do I like _exactly_? You expect me to pick? I can write lists on what I like about her! How she's so kind, caring and considerate to other people, that she loves sweets like I do, that she can take a joke and even joke around herself, the way her eyes sparkle whenever she starts baking, how she hums to herself when she's focusing on stuff. Seriously; I can write a number of lists on paper! I even like how she's bold because I'm a damn chicken with romantic gestures!"

Lars arched an eyebrow at the Dane who responded rather sincerely and with a decent answer, too. Most of the time, the Dutchman thought that Matthias was empty-headed and just simply one of those men who revelled too much in himself. However, here he was proving that there was more to his character.

And honestly, as begrudging Lars was with Matthias, he was actually pretty impressed with him, too. He was able to go under his radar and get close to his sister, he proved to be a very worthy partner in the game he loved most, had a similar passion to that game like he did and thought of answers that he was quite satisfied with (Lars did _not _like it when people tried to suck it up to him, it was sickening).

However, the most important point was that he was able to make his sister so happy.

Sure, Emma was cheerful and happy, however she would sometimes sigh and watch sadly at couples walking by when the both of them would buy things for the store or just simply walk around to explore the town. The Dutchman knew that Emma wanted a little something more in her life, and perhaps a relationship was what that little something was.

It took Lars to realize now that it was also because he wanted that right man to come along.

Most of Emma's other admirers only vied for her attention because she was beautiful. It infuriated the Dutchman that they only sought after her because of physical appearances. He wanted someone who actually considers her, was serious, and could look after her just in case that they _were _meant to be.

Antonio seemed like a perfect candidate since he was kind, cheerful, had a part-time job, and was now a full-time teacher. However, Lars didn't want him near his sister, due to having dated a number of girls before. He was friendly, but he was a friendly player, at the Dutchman was afraid that his sister would just end up getting hurt like those other girls.

Much to his shock, though – Emma actually wanted to break it off with Antonio, who complied. The Belgian woman had said simply that it didn't feel like things were much different – there was no spark or fireworks erupting when they kissed, hugged or held hands.

Lars was quite relieved with that, though, but it made him have a more burning resent of Antonio even more – it showed that he didn't really think of having a serious relationship with his sister, when that was what she had wanted.

Of course, Emma was quite disappointed that there was nothing coming from that relationship, too.

However, here was a man before him that appeared to be _dead _serious about his sister, and was clearly quite enamoured with her. It was also plain to see that Emma was very much enamoured with the man, too. Hell, she even _stood up against _Lars when he questioned their relationship status. She even _admitted it out loud._

"Is this…your first relationship?" Lars questioned; this would be his final question.

Here, Matthias nodded, "Yeah…honestly, I'm nervous as hell because of that. I've never been with anybody, and the only kiss I've had was by accident."

"An accident?" Lars arched an eyebrow. "What exactly happened?"

Here, Matthias wanted to crawl away, regretting that he had said that. However, since he said it, he had to go through with it or else Lars might have an even lower opinion on him. The Dane took a deep breath and mumbled.

Lars tilted his head in confusion, "What?"

Matthias sighed exasperatedly, "I got drunk on my friend's birthday, and I kissed him when we cut the cake! Happy now?"

Lars blinked, his mind drawing onto a blank; did the Dane _seriously _just say what he thought he heard. Before he could question, the Dane sighed, "Yeah…my first kiss was technically with a guy…and I was drunk off my ass that night…"

The Dutchman then scowled, "You're not going to drink all the time with Emma around, are you?"

Matthias then shook his head, "I won't. I already stopped drinking as much when Peter came into the family. I only drink when it's either a special occasion, or I'm depressed as shit, apparently…"

"I see…you don't take drugs or have any…anger management issues, do you?"

"What?" Matthias looked surprised here. "No, I don't take drugs. Anger management? No…I did not. I don't even remember the last time I got angry…"

"Hmm…" the Dutchman nodded. After a while of contemplation and some awkward silence that flew by, Lars finally chose to respond, breaking the tense air, "Well, I've come up with a final verdict, handyman. And you know what I think?"

"What?" questioned Matthias, feeling both tired, but straining himself to pay attention to what the Dutchman was going to say next.

"You smile too much, and you're really slow in the head. However, that saying so; you actually consider my sister's feeling first. You don't seem like a terrible person, just dense at times, and you seem to care about her needs, too."

Matthias blinked, slightly dazed from the Dutchman's answer – honestly, it sounded like Lars was insulting him, but there was also compliments peppered in there. Which was it?

Seeing his dumbfounded face, Lars sighed, "Fine, I'll say it in words that you'll understand. You have traits that piss me off…but I think you're a good guy, and a good match for my sister. Understand me now?"

Matthias blinked, his brain for some reason acting _extra _slow that day. Was Lars seriously accepting him? Was he giving permission for dating his sister? The Dane then dared to ask, "So…it's okay, then? I can date your sister?"

Lars sighed, "As much as I regret it; yeah, you can. Just…look after her, okay? Give her your attention and affection, but also look out for the both of you…"

From the Dutchman's words, Matthias felt something bloom and erupt from inside of him. However, he was aware that his body was aching, and it would be far more painful later on. However, he could _not _help that big grin spreading out onto his face – his face was hurting, but it was worth it.

"Thank you! Really…thank you so much. I don't intend on ever letting her down."

"If you _do _prove me wrong and break her heart," Lars said coldly. "I _will _not only break your neck, but I'll break something else…"

Matthias nodded, "You won't; I'll make sure that she's always happy."

It seemed at that moment that nothing would bring down the Dane's spirits and the good cheer that was now settling into the relaxed atmosphere right then. Even Lars, though he looked somewhat annoyed, had relaxed his shoulders upon settling the once tense interrogation. Matthias wanted to badly hold Emma and yell something important to her.

However, there was a great crash that resounded throughout the building.

Matthias and Lars looked over to the source, when the Dutchman snarled, "Those idiots again…what the hell is it _this _time?"

The Dane wasn't sure on how to respond, but he saw the boys from earlier that had humiliated Lars, Sadik and that one Egyptian guy who threw a tomato at him. Blinking, Matthias strained his ears to listen more closely as to what was happening.

"Think you're a tough ass little shit for going out with Michelin, huh?! Well, guess what! You're still nothing! Nothing on me!"

The head of the gang was grabbing roughly on the collar of another boy's uniform. He also had a raised fist and thrust it outwards, making it collide onto the other boy's face, warranting a cry of pain to escape from his lips.

However, Matthias then realized what was fully happening when he saw who the boy that got punched was. That silver-white hair was unmistakeable.

"Emil!"

* * *

_Yes, I had to end it there. There's going to be one last chapter and an epilogue after that, so stay tuned. ;)_

_Also, I'm actually writing a new story that's on with 2 chapters already. I don't know if any of you would be interested, but if you like shonen-ai, or crack pairings, or Nyotalia or a combination of these, then if you have time, look at it if you want:_

_"**A Tail For Two Legs**" and the pairing is Spain x Nyo!Vietnam. (I know, SpaViet, but I'm lately getting into pairing Spain with Vietnam either way - doesn't matter if Viet's a dude or a chick, I like pairing Spain with them. XD) _

_Anyway, thoughts and opinions? I like hearing/reading them. _

_Good day to you. :DDD_

_Sincerely  
HetaWriter/HetaReader_


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